Are ELTs the long term answer?

AVWEB:  ALASKANS QUESTION VALUE OF ELTS
Recent crashes in Alaska have illustrated the limits of current search-and-rescue technology that depends on ELT signals, according to a story in Monday’s Alaska Dispatch. The Otter that crashed last month, killing former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens and four others, carried a new-generation 406 MHz emergency locator transmitter, but the force of the crash separated the unit from its antenna cable………Some pilots told the Dispatch they depend on non-approved supplemental gear such as personal locator beacons, Spot messenger units, and Spider Tracks tracking systems, which use GPS technology and communications satellites, to supplement their FAA-required ELTs. More…