One aspect of satellite-based alert and rescue that we haven't discussed is that in 1994 the space component of the system didn't include the high-altitude orbits that the system has today. Today there are no more analog beacons, and the lower frequencies borrowed from aviation are no longer supported. Since all beacons are GPS-equipped today, you only have to detect the signal. The signal contains digitally-encoded information such as the registered owner of the beacon (so you know who's in trouble) and the GPS location of the beacon (so you know where to send help). This can be done these days, with some difficulty, even from geostationary orbit, so the entire Earth's surface can be monitored continuously with only three satellites. To be sure, the modern satellite network consists of these, plus spacecraft at lower altitudes for redundancy. But nominally the current system can instantly localize a transmitter as soon as it begins transmitting.
Back in the 1990s, however, only mid- and low-altitude spacecraft were used, and the beacon signal did not include location because the beacon had no way of knowing where it was. The mid-altitude spacecraft (which were also weather-monitoring satellites) had a reasonably large footprint and could detect signals within a few minutes. But only the low-altitude spacecraft could localize the signal. When the satellite is in a higher orbit, the RF analysis methods of localizing the signal source with respect to the satellite ground track are not very accurate. This is a consequence of the physics involved. Only the LEO satellites could localize a transmission with accuracy good enough to dispatch rescue units.
But LEO satellites have a very small footprint, which is why they have to be placed in different orbital planes. And there weren't enough satellites in each plane to provide continuous monitoring for all areas left and right of the ground track. And the rotation of the Earth through the various orbital planes means you have spotty coverage. For extreme latitudes, you had only the COSPAS spacecraft in near-polar orbits. Depending on your location, it would take up to hours for there to be an LEO satellite flyover to localize the signal.
That's the extreme example. In practice you would still always have a significant delay. So to rely upon COSPAS-SARSAT as the primary mayday signal in 1994 would have been daft. It's a far second place to actually talking to someone nearby on VHF/UHF radio and giving them your position. We've been laying some heavy blame on the officers and crew for not activating their EPIRBs. But, depending on judgment and procedures in place, it's not inconceivable that the officers simply thought that EPIRBs and satellite location were superfluous at the time since they were in interactive communication with the potential rescuers themselves.
