The DFIRS beacon is detectable by which devices?

• A. Ground crew only
• B. Search and rescue satellites, aircraft guard receivers and direction finders
• C. Pilots only
• D. Ground-based weather stations

Answer: (B)

The signal is picked up by a range of rescue-oriented assets, not just one group. The DFIRS beacon is designed to be detected globally by search and rescue satellites for wide-area localization, and by aircraft guard receivers and direction finders to help nearby assets home in on the beacon quickly. This combination ensures the distress signal can be located reliably whether the aircraft is over land or sea and within line of sight of aircraft or space-based receivers.

Ground crew alone wouldn’t cover the airborne and satellite perspectives, and pilots aren’t the primary detecters of their own distress beacon. Ground-based weather stations don’t monitor emergency beacons, so they wouldn’t detect the DFIRS signal.