🔍 Key Concepts

• Initial search patterns used when the distress position is known but the craft is not yet sighted • Differences between expanding square, parallel track, and sector search patterns in IAMSAR (International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue Manual) • When a search is started from a datum (reported position) versus along a route or over a wide area

💭 Think About

• Ask yourself: If you have a reasonably accurate reported position but no visual contact yet, do you start searching right at that point, or over a broad area? • Consider which pattern is best for a small search area centered on a known position where the target might be close but not exactly at the reported point. • Think about which patterns are more suited to large-area coverage (like a shipping lane or wide search box) versus tight, concentrated searching around one point.

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify which pattern is designed to start at the datum (reported position) and systematically work outward from there. • Check which options are mainly used to cover long tracks or routes rather than a single point location. • Confirm from your SAR (Search and Rescue) notes which pattern is recommended when the position of distress is known with relatively small error, but the vessel is not immediately sighted on arrival.