Part 135 Flight Locating: Requirements and Compliance After the NTSB Report

Flight locating under 14 CFR 135.79 requires the certificate holder to have procedures to ensure that each flight can be located and that search and rescue can be notified if a flight is overdue. This is an operational control responsibility — not just a technology requirement.

Flight locating can use any combination of: flight plans filed with ATC, company flight following procedures, satellite tracking, ADS-B monitoring, or position reporting schedules.

The NTSB's AIR-24-03 investigation found that flight locating deficiencies contributed to delayed search and rescue responses in multiple Part 135 accidents. In some cases, operators had flight locating procedures on paper but no active monitoring system to detect overdue flights.

The NTSB recommended the FAA require more robust flight locating procedures, including real-time tracking technology for all Part 135 operations.

Satellite tracking services (Spidertracks, SPOT, InReach) provide real-time position reporting and automatic overdue alerting. These are the gold standard for flight locating compliance.

ADS-B monitoring through services like FlightAware or Flightradar24 can supplement flight locating but should not be the sole method — ADS-B coverage has gaps in remote areas.

Company flight following with scheduled position reports via radio or phone is the simplest approach but requires active monitoring by ground personnel during all flight operations.

Your operations manual must describe your flight locating method, overdue aircraft procedures, and search and rescue notification protocols. Include specific timeframes — when does a flight become overdue, and what actions follow at each stage?

Log flight locating activity for each flight. If using satellite tracking, retain tracking logs. If using company flight following, document each position report received.