My wife hikes in Western Colorado quite a bit and has helped rescue 3 parties over the past 4 years. In one case, a young woman (an ER nurse) was in dire distress for no apparent reason and fading quickly (in retrospect possibly COVID related sequela). Initially, emergency responders were going the route of a land-based rescue, but the Mini allowed the urgency to be communicated more clearly. The helicopter touched down on a scree field (but couldn't land) while my wife and a couple others helped the EMT load her. Docs said that she had less than an hour or so before long-term consequences or death.
Any emergency beacon is better than none, but two-way communication can be a literal lifesaver. I hope that the Starlink system is eventually linked into our 911 infrastructure and available to anyone with an LTE phone regardless of carrier.
Any emergency beacon is better than none, but two-way communication can be a literal lifesaver. I hope that the Starlink system is eventually linked into our 911 infrastructure and available to anyone with an LTE phone regardless of carrier.