First reported use of Emergency SOS via Satellite saves snowmobiler in Alaska

In what appears to be the first reported use of Emergency SOS via Satellite, a snowmobiler in Alaska was successfully rescued when he became stranded in an extremely isolated area.

Alaska State Troopers received an alert from the Apple Emergency Response Center in the early hours of yesterday morning …

The State of Alaska Department of Public Safety provided a brief report.

On December 1, 2022, at around 2:00 am, the Alaska State Troopers were notified that an adult male traveling via snowmachine from Noorvik to Kotzebue had activated an Apple iPhone Emergency SOS via satellite on his iPhone after becoming stranded.

Working with local search and rescue teams, the Apple Emergency Response Center, and the Northwest Arctic Borough Search and Rescue Coordinator, the NWAB SAR deployed four volunteer searchers to the Nimiuk Point area directly to the GPS coordinates provided by the Apple Emergency Response Center.

The adult male was located and transported to Kotzebue by the volunteer search team. There were no injuries reported to Troopers.

The report doesn’t state the issue that caused the man to become stranded. Mechanical failure and the snowmobile becoming stuck are two obvious possibilities.

MacRumors reports that the state troopers were impressed by how well the system worked.

Troopers who helped with the rescue were “impressed with the accuracy and completeness of information included in the initial alert,” with the Emergency SOS via Satellite feature designed to ask several questions ahead of when an alert is sent out to expedite rescue missions.

Apple activated the system in the US and Canada just a couple of weeks earlier, after first announcing it during the iPhone 14 keynote.

The Emergency SOS via Satellite system is automatically activated when you attempt to call 911 from any iPhone 14 model, and cellular service is not available.

Apple provides a demo mode, which allows you to familiarize yourself with the feature, so that you are prepared should you need to use it during an emergency.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone 14.
2. Swipe down and choose Emergency SOS.
3. Swipe to the bottom, under Emergency SOS via Satellite, tap Try Demo.
4. Follow the prompts.

The feature is made possible thanks to a new radio chip in the latest iPhones. It works in the same way as standalone emergency locators like Garmin’s inReach Messenger. Garmin first launched the service back in 2011, and said in October of this year that the system has provided emergency assistance to 10,000 individuals in its 11 years of operation.

The company provided data on these incidents, identifying the top five activities in which emergency satellite comms was needed:

1. Hiking/Backpacking
2. Driving
3. Motorcycling
4. Climbing/Mountaineering
5. Boating

It says that an injury was the most common reason for use of the system.

1. Injury
2. Medical issue
3. Vehicle accident
4. Stranded/Stuck
5. Vehicle issue

One interesting aspect of Garmin’s report is that the service was frequently used to assist other people, rather than the device owner. This suggests that Apple’s Emergency SOS via Satellite feature is likely to save the lives of more people than just iPhone 14 owners.

In addition to the US and Canada, the service is set to launch in France, Germany, Ireland, and the UK later this month. Further countries are likely to follow next year.

Photo: Tyler Moore/Unsplash