WQIO Ohio's Super Station
A local Civil Air Patrol squadron is training for the possibility of being called upon to help find a missing person, locate a downed aircraft or respond to another emergency in Knox County and beyond.
Members of the Capt. Peter Chapman II Composite Squadron recently conducted emergency-services training using a simulated missing-aircraft scenario. The exercise imagined a small Cessna departing from the Knox County Regional Airport for Mason County, Kentucky, but failing to arrive after residents reported seeing the aircraft flying unusually low.
While the scenario was fictional, the skills being practiced are very real.
The squadron recently began training in the Civil Air Patrol’s Emergency Services mission, which includes search and rescue, disaster response and other missions assigned by government agencies.
Civil Air Patrol serves as the auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force and conducts approximately 90% of inland search-and-rescue missions in the United States, according to the organization. Its volunteer members use aircraft, ground teams and tracking technology during missions, saving an average of more than 100 lives each year.
For the Knox County training exercise, adult members and cadets worked from a property in Milford Township that belongs to Deputy Squadron Commander for Seniors Capt. John Morgan.
Participants practiced basic but critical skills, including radio communications, compass use and map reading.
They also received hands-on instruction with an Emergency Locator Transmitter, or ELT.
An ELT is an emergency radio beacon installed in aircraft. When activated by a serious crash or manually switched on, it transmits a distress signal that can be detected by satellites and rescue personnel.
During the training, members used a practice ELT to learn how to determine the direction of the signal and then triangulate its location from multiple points.
Ohio Wing Southeast Group Deputy Commander Maj. Jeff Beckman brought ELT detection equipment to the exercise and helped members learn how the technology could be used during an actual search.
The training wasn’t limited to finding an aircraft.
Because Civil Air Patrol vehicles are used during emergency-services missions, participants were also taught how to conduct a thorough inspection of their vehicles before heading into the field.
Capt. Morgan said the ability to respond to a downed aircraft or missing person is only one part of the squadron’s emergency-services mission.
“Responding to potential situations like a downed aircraft or a missing person is a major component of our Emergency Services mission.”
The unit can also assist with disaster response and other missions assigned by the Air Force, FEMA or other government agencies.
Morgan said the training gives communities another resource when emergencies occur.
“Our highly trained aircrews and ground teams are a valuable resource to our communities, state and nation.”
The local unit has also been growing.
The former Knox County Airport Cadet Flight was formally renamed the Capt. Peter Hayden Chapman II Composite Squadron in June in honor of the Centerburg native and decorated Air Force helicopter pilot who was killed during a Vietnam War search-and-rescue mission.
The squadron meets Mondays at 6 p.m. at the Knox County Airport terminal building.
Its cadet program is open to young people ages 12 through 18 and focuses on leadership, aerospace education, physical fitness and character development. Adults can also participate as volunteers.
Anyone interested in the cadet program or adult volunteer opportunities can contact Capt. John Morgan at 740-263-1664.
