ARCC contact details

[Ugly Duckling]

Aeronautical Rescue Co-ordination Centre 24 hours contact details.

[Bodumatau]

will that number also work if I phone from outside SA and add +27, removing the (0)

[Ugly Duckling]

will that number also work if I phone from outside SA and add +27, removing the (0)

Affirmative.

[Ugly Duckling]

Background to ARCC
https://www.avcom.co.za/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=165221

[Tim]

will that number also work if I phone from outside SA and add +27, removing the (0)

Affirmative.

Are these cell phone numbers that can receive SMS? Are the people monitoring these phone numbers checking for incoming SMS?
"063" seems to indicate MTN network (assuming no porting). Can somebody confirm that MTN is the actual provider.

(Reasons I am asking: My satellite tracker is not a sat phone. But it can send (and receive) SMS and email. The return SMS feature does however not work if the sender is with Telkom Mobile - the SMS gateway in this case is not properly implemented.)

Does ARCC also use email for purpose of receiving emergency reports? If so what is the email address, and are such emails monitored 24/7?

[Ugly Duckling]

Are these cell phone numbers that can receive SMS?
Yes, They are normal Mobile MTN numbers that can receive SMS.

Are the people monitoring these phone numbers checking for incoming SMS?
Yes the numbers are monitored for SMS and Whatsapp messages.

"063" seems to indicate MTN network (assuming no porting). Can somebody confirm that MTN is the actual provider.
Correct it is a normal MTN Mobile Phone.

(Reasons I am asking: My satellite tracker is not a sat phone. But it can send (and receive) SMS and email. The return SMS feature does however not work if the sender is with Telkom Mobile - the SMS gateway in this case is not properly implemented.)

Does ARCC also use email for purpose of receiving emergency reports?
Technically no however the email is used for COSPAS SARSAT distress relays as an addition to AFTN so the mails are monitored 24/7z - the address is sasar.arcc@gmail.com.
If so what is the email address, and are such emails monitored 24/7?

ARCC suggests that this information is passed to the person/entity who monitors the tracker and inform the ARCC of any concerns.

The international practise is very clear that social media/mobile devises cannot be used as a primary first response tools and also not as initial distress notifications however if we do become aware of an emergency, we will obviously react to said emergency. The ARCC discourages users of such devices to use the ARCC details as the first response as receipt cannot be guaranteed.

Be advised that the networks are under threat with load shedding at present.
A standard aircraft radio can get a message to any ATC station as the primary point of contact.

[Tim]

will that number also work if I phone from outside SA and add +27, removing the (0)

Affirmative.

Are these cell phone numbers that can receive SMS? Are the people monitoring these phone numbers checking for incoming SMS?
"063" seems to indicate MTN network (assuming no porting). Can somebody confirm that MTN is the actual provider.

(Reasons I am asking: My satellite tracker is not a sat phone. But it can send (and receive) SMS and email. The return SMS feature does however not work if the sender is with Telkom Mobile - the SMS gateway in this case is not properly implemented.)

Does ARCC also use email for purpose of receiving emergency reports? If so what is the email address, and are such emails monitored 24/7?

To answer myself:

- The numbers receive SMS and are monitored 24/7.
- The provider is MTN.
- ARCC also monitors the following email address: sasar.arcc@gmail.com

I have tested the SMS messaging, full circle. It is quick. The proviso is that ARCC is not yet used to this, and may not understand that they can respond to an SMS received, by SMS. (In the test sequence, the ARCC person called an emergency contact person from my ELT record, as his first reaction was wanting to speak to somebody in person.)

I shall test the email interface some other time, and respond here if it equally works.

[Heksie]

Affirmative.

Are these cell phone numbers that can receive SMS? Are the people monitoring these phone numbers checking for incoming SMS?
"063" seems to indicate MTN network (assuming no porting). Can somebody confirm that MTN is the actual provider.

(Reasons I am asking: My satellite tracker is not a sat phone. But it can send (and receive) SMS and email. The return SMS feature does however not work if the sender is with Telkom Mobile - the SMS gateway in this case is not properly implemented.)

Does ARCC also use email for purpose of receiving emergency reports? If so what is the email address, and are such emails monitored 24/7?

To answer myself:

- The numbers receive SMS and are monitored 24/7.
- The provider is MTN.
- ARCC also monitors the following email address: sasar.arcc@gmail.com

I have tested the SMS messaging, full circle. It is quick. The proviso is that ARCC is not yet used to this, and may not understand that they can respond to an SMS received, by SMS. (In the test sequence, the ARCC person called an emergency contact person from my ELT record, as his first reaction was wanting to speak to somebody in person.)

I shall test the email interface some other time, and respond here if it equally works.

Please note that the ARCC will not respond (as first responder) again as this is not a recognized method in terms of Distress Notification and it is also not a registered SDP in SA.

In order to be a SAR Data Provider, an up to date data base should be available to the RCC on a 24 hour basis.

ARCC suggests that this information is passed to the person/entity who monitors the tracker and inform the ARCC of any concerns.

The international practice is very clear that social media/mobile devises cannot be used as primary first response tools and also not as initial distress notifications however if we do become aware of an emergency, we will obviously react to said emergency. The ARCC discourages users of such devices to use the ARCC details as the first response as receipt cannot be guaranteed and the frequency of false alerts cannot be established.

This method is not part of the national distress alerting system and is not monitored as a primary means of distress notification by the ARCC.

Please refrain from including the ARCC mobile and/or email addresses in such devices as first responders as they do not have the capacity to monitor such messages.

First response should be the monitoring agents and distress notification should come from them to the ARCC.

[Tim]

In all due respect, I have no idea how Heksie's response relates to my post. Heksie must see a link though, as he/she copies my mail into his/her response.

This topic here is about updating the Avcom community with the current contact 063... numbers of the ARCC, assuming that it is important for pilots and operators to be able to contact ARCC if required.

I only made the point of confirming whether such (appropriate) communication can also be established via SMS. For example, if I am outside of a GSM network, and I can only use a satellite-based messaging device to send text messages to mobile phone numbers (such as the ARCC contract numbers).

That this works is now confirmed with the full circle test that we did yesterday. ARCC can receive SMS messages, and can respond (e.g., with further clarification questions) by replying to my text message (which again is relayed back to the satellite messaging device).

I think that is all very good.

[Ugly Duckling]

With all due respect Tim, Heksie is the ARCC Chief.

If anyone knows anything about SAR in SA and surrounding territories and oceans, how the law is written and implemented it is Heksie. Been a guest speaker and member on multiple SAR committees and ICAO meetings

Push the right buttons and you will be lifted off the highest peaks but the team as they have done on many occasions.

[TikkaT3]

I am updating my SOS messages on my sat-tracker and I have it set to contact my close relatives if I alert them that I'm in trouble whilst aviating. I remember seeing a post that Heksie is no longer involved in the ARCC. Are these 063 numbers still valid and can one of my family members call this number to raise the alarm that I am in trouble or have gone missing?

Any other numbers I should be adding to SAR if I go missing. This would probably be useful to all pilots to relay numbers (if the numbers are active) to their family members to raise an alarm should they go missing while flying and no flight plan was filed (NIL SAR).

[Ugly Duckling]

From the Facebook page 063 505 4164

[Ugly Duckling]

Multi disciplinary search organisation https://www.sarza.co.za/

[TikkaT3]

Multi disciplinary search organisation https://www.sarza.co.za/

Many thanks.

[deanvdm]

The ARCC's primary Search Mission Coordinator (SMC) number is +27-63-505-4164 and the Standby / alternative SMC number +27-63-505-5485. It is recommended that you keep both these numbers in your emergency contact list (esp. after hours).

Although there are many emergency services that may be able to offer assistance, the ARCC has the legal mandate and also the ability to activate more appropriate resources from a bigger pool of resources hence the above numbers should always be your first port of call in case there is an aviation emergency. Most off-field incidents require the combined effort of a number of different organisations and once activated, the ARCC team works tirelessly to combine the appropriate resources (from a very long list) in response to an incident.

A note on other non-aviation emergencies. It is common that the aviation community to be contacted or asked for advice/help when there are non-aviation emergencies and injuries in remote, non-urban areas (e.g. from family and friends). Whereas emergencies In urban areas are fairly well covered by state and private organisations, in my experience there is no one national number that gets you to the right / best help in all provinces with little delay. The reason for this is that generally speaking, the SA Consitution stipulates that Emergency Services is a provincial competency and there are significant differences in how such services are offered as well as the level of service offered in the various provinces. The Mountain Club of South Africa's Search and Rescue organisation (MSAR) has made it its job to build a network to solve problems in remote areas and they keep an emergency contact list aligned to their Search and Rescue teams which I can vouch for here:

https://mcsa.org.za/activities/mountain ... -numbers/

And Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/MCSASAR

Lastly, note that both MSAR and SARZA (previously ORRU) are official resources to the ARCC and you'll see both of these volunteer organisations are frequent contributors to ARCC coordinated rescue response to aviation incidents that happen further away from airfields and cities.