The 406 Mandate – What You Need to Know

After years of discussion and delays, 406MHz ELTs have been mandated for aircraft operating in Canada. There has been a bit of confusion over who needs to comply and when, but there are two key dates to keep in mind, depending on your aircraft and situation.

On November 25, 2021, the following aircraft will need to comply:

• Any commercially operated aircraft
• Privately operated aircraft subject to CARs 604 (any aircraft that is multi-engine, turbine-powered, pressurized and/or has a maximum takeoff weight greater than 12,566lbs)
• All foreign aircraft, including US registered aircraft, operating in Canada

On November 25, 2025, all privately operated aircraft that are not subject to CARs 604 will need to comply with the mandate.

Gliders, ultra-lights, balloons, airships and gyroplanes are exempt and do not require an ELT of any kind to be installed.

What does this mean for anyone who is still using a legacy 121.5 ELT?

If you are a commercial operator, fly an aircraft registered in another country or have a privately operated aircraft subject to CARs 604, you are going to need to replace your ELT with a 406 this year. For Canadian aircraft, there are NO alternate means of compliance; SPOT, PLB’s, ADS-B and other tracking/location systems on the market will not satisfy the mandate. The requirements for foreign aircraft are more general, but you will still need a SARSAT/COSPAS approved means of transmitting both 121.5 and 406MHz signals.

For all other private Canadian operators, your legacy 121.5 ELT’s are still legal until Nov. 25, 2025. As per above, there are also no alternate means of compliance; the only way to comply with the mandate is to install a 406 ELT.

Regardless of your situation, you should begin to at least look into a 406 ELT solution as soon as possible, even if you don’t legally need to until Nov. 2025. First off is for safety reasons; 121.5 transmissions are no longer monitored by satellite. If you get into trouble in a remote area, nobody will even realize it until either your aircraft is overdue or someone happens to fly by with a radio tuned in to 121.5.

406 ELT’s also provide a more accurate position fix than their 121.5 counterparts, and is even better if it includes a GPS interface. Anything that reduces the search area will increase the odds of you being found sooner rather than later.

Secondly, support for legacy 121.5 beacons is slowly beginning to disappear. It is no longer legal to manufacture new 121.5 beacons in the US or Canada. Batteries are becoming more difficult and expensive to source, while other manufacturers have stopped making replacement batteries altogether. If your beacon fails, few (if any) manufacturers still repair them.  For more information, please check our quick reference document “ELT Info at a Glance“.

Finally, getting your installation done sooner will allow you to beat the rush. If everyone waits until the last minute to get their ELT installed, both avionics and maintenance shops will be booked up and you may face a longer than usual wait time.

Regardless of whether you need to get a 406 ELT this year or if you’re able to wait on it, it’s never too early to start looking into what your options are. Don’t hesitate to contact Brant Aero to ask questions and make an informed decision on what ELT solution is best for your situation.

-Dan Edwards, Avionics Technician, BRANT AERO