Breitling Emergency Saves Life of 39 year old Hunter
Breitling watches are regarded as fine, rugged timepieces with unique advantages. Take, for example, the life of Mark Spencer. Spencer claims that his Breitling wristwatch saved his life.
According to sources, Mark Spencer was stranded and lost in the wilderness in Alaska during the late summer. On a float hunting trip roughly 120 miles away from Anchorage, Alaska, Spencer and two friends found themselves up a creek without a paddle—so to speak. There were depth issues with the water in the stream they had initially mapped out, and taking the alternate route was suspect to dangers that the men and their cataraft wouldn’t be able to endure.
When the men realized they weren’t on track for their arrival at the end of their route 10 days after embarking, Spencer took the Cataraft further downstream while the other two men stayed back to set up camp. Spencer was in search of another group of hunters they had encountered a day before.
While traveling, Spencer’s cataraft ripped on the bottom, leaving him stranded far from his friends in the Alaskan wilderness. When Spencer realized his position, he enabled an Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) device—a feature of his $5,500 Breitling watch.
“The wristwatch is equipped with an accurate micro-transmitter that broadcasts on the 121.5 MHz aircraft emergency frequency. While this isn’t a feature you’ll ever need frequently in your life, the micro-transmitter is activated by unscrewing a protective cap and extending a short antenna. The signal broadcasts for 48 hours and can be heard as far as 100 miles away.”
Within 7 hours, Spencer had a Blackhawk Helicopter Rescue Crew locating and rescuing him from his situation.
According to a statement from Thierry Prissert, President of Breitling USA to nationaljeweler.com: “It brings Breitling great pleasure to hear about this type of customer satisfaction. We’re hoping from now on he only needs to use his watch to tell time.”
Spencer’s buddies were found and made it out alive, too. If it weren’t for the Breitling, this story may have turned out a lot differently for everyone.
