Narrative:

While working the mid shift an aircraft departing southbound advised me that he was receiving a strong ELT at 8;000 feet. I received subsequent reports from other aircraft; however other aircraft told me they had to cut out the squelch to hear the ELT. A few minutes later another aircraft advised me that he was receiving a very strong ELT signal 12 miles south of dpa at 4;000 descending to 3;000 for the ILS 2L approach into dpa.the controller in charge (controller in charge) and I attempted to coordinate with ZAU to find out what the next step was. My controller in charge called the regional operations center (roc) to advise them of the ELT. The roc advised my controller in charge she should 'go call the center instead.' after coordinating with center; we were advised that no search and rescue or other activity would commence until dawn anyway. Neither I nor my controller in charge knew exactly what to do in the event of an ELT. We were briefed by operations managers that all information we need would be contained in a 'controller in charge mid binder;' however this binder doesn't have a procedure for handling ELT reports. Since we didn't know what to do; we guessed. Who's to say our guess was right; or that we could or should have done something different? We don't have anything to reference to ensure we complete the required coordination. Tonight we had marginal VFR conditions and icing reports scattered through our airspace. Who's to say that an aircraft didn't attempt an unsuccessful scud run? How are we to know with certainty what to do in that situation?

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: C90 TRACON Controllers working a mid-shift without a Supervisor were unsure how to handle ELT reports.

Narrative: While working the mid shift an aircraft departing southbound advised me that he was receiving a strong ELT at 8;000 feet. I received subsequent reports from other aircraft; however other aircraft told me they had to cut out the squelch to hear the ELT. A few minutes later another aircraft advised me that he was receiving a very strong ELT signal 12 miles south of DPA at 4;000 descending to 3;000 for the ILS 2L approach into DPA.The Controller In Charge (CIC) and I attempted to coordinate with ZAU to find out what the next step was. My CIC called the Regional operations Center (ROC) to advise them of the ELT. The ROC advised my CIC she should 'go call the Center instead.' After coordinating with Center; we were advised that no search and rescue or other activity would commence until dawn anyway. Neither I nor my CIC knew exactly what to do in the event of an ELT. We were briefed by Operations Managers that all information we need would be contained in a 'CIC Mid Binder;' however this binder doesn't have a procedure for handling ELT reports. Since we didn't know what to do; we guessed. Who's to say our guess was right; or that we could or should have done something different? We don't have anything to reference to ensure we complete the required coordination. Tonight we had marginal VFR conditions and icing reports scattered through our airspace. Who's to say that an aircraft didn't attempt an unsuccessful scud run? How are we to know with certainty what to do in that situation?

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.