I missed this one on April 8-9, 2012, Ortega Mountains.

Rescuers vector in heliocopter with signal mirror.

Search and Rescue San Mateo Trail
http://www.rmru.org/missions/2012/2012-011.html

If you are counting situations like that, in southern Arizona (lots of sunlight and long vistas) we routinely flashed a responding helo on just about every daylight operation. Probably still routine, although I have not been involved recently.

I have hauled out the signal mirror/compass mirror on routine, non SAR work just to let the pilot know for sure where we are and to keep in practice.

On May 25, 2013, 5 people whose 19-ft boat had been adrift for 7 days in the Pacific were rescued after a US Navy C-130 search plane from VR-62 ("Nomads") spotted their signal mirror flash at 5 mile range after 3 hours of searching. News reports here:

US Navy Press Release
Photo Album of Rescue from VR-62 Facebook site
Photo of drifting boat, possible weak flash
US Coast Guard news release

US Coast Guard search doctrine assumes a detection range of 5 nautical miles for a sun signal mirror, consistent
with this incident (US COMDTINST M16130.2F , Table H-20, page H-46, January 2013).

Most nations require all oceangoing vessels to carry sun signal mirrors for the purpose of signalling
to rescue plans and ships when in distress:

International Treaty: Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Regulation 11: Equipment of Lifeboats :(xix) a daylight signalling mirror of an approved type
1993 Torremolinos Protocol and Torremolinos International Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels (page 80) ; (page 89) ; (page 300) ; (page 309) "One daylight signalling mirror with instructions for its use for signalling to ships and aircraft"
US Code Title 46 CFR 160.151-21 Equipment required for SOLAS A and SOLAS B inflatable liferafts. o) Signalling mirror (Regulation -III/38.5.1.15). Each signalling mirror described by Regulation III/38.5.1.15 must be approved by the Commandant under approval series 160.020.
US Coast Guard Approval Category 160.020 Emergency Signalling Mirror
SOLAS (Safey of Life at Sea) Requirements for Lifeboats "Daylight signalling mirror with instructions" (Annex 4, Row 19; Annex 6, Row 21;
United Kingdom Lifeboat Requirements 10.1.19 Daylight signalling mirror
FAA Requirement Part 135 Section 167 For extended overwater operations: requires liferaft including one signaling mirror (and lots of other equipment)

Three hikers in distress in Alaska were rescued this Tuesday, June 25, 2013, two days after running out of food, when the pilots of a CH-47F Chinook heliocopter spotted their signal mirror. The Chinook was out of Fort Wainwright, Alaska, on a training mission.

3 hikers rescued after 2 days without food

Three hikers rescued in Alaska - Associated Press

Update: 6/30/2013: Here's a release from the Fort Wainwright Facebook page:

USARAK Aviators rescue three hikers near Healy June 28, 2013

Great thread! It's an eye opener when you see how powerful a tool a signal mirror is.

June 30 2013, Tatlanika Creek, SW of Fairbanks, Alaska.

Downed pilot rescued after search plane spotted his signal mirror and orange panel.

This is the second signal mirror success in Alaska within 7 days!
(see above).

In this case, the pilot would have been rescued soon thanks to his old-fashioned 121.5 MHz ELT signal, but thanks to his signal mirror, they spotted him before they could localize the ELT beacon.

“The pilot signaled the HC-130 with a signal mirror and an orange panel,... They actually had visual confirmation of him before they were able to home in on the ELT signal.”

Alaska National Guardsmen Rescue Plane Crash Victim near Tatlanika Creek

Uninjured Pilot Rescued from Plane Crash near Fairbanks

Round robin flight ends in wilderness plane crash north of Denali Park

Very cool! Sounds like he was very prepared.

Gino Borges' pickup got stuck in Nevada's Black Rock Desert about 30 miles from the nearest paved road around Nov 9, 2013.

Gino camped overnight, and on the next day, attracted the attention of some ATVs about 5 miles away with his AMK Rescue Flash signal mirror. The ATVs then bailed him out.

Gino relates his experience in this YouTube Video posted Nov. 15, 2013 and this Nov. 13 blog post.

Wow, someone went into the desert with a survival kit which had a signal mirror. Some folks might think that he just got lucky, but in this case he seems to have made his own luck.

Signal mirrors and ATV's are much less pricey than PLB's and helicopters, but it's nice to have the more pricey back-ups if rock simple doesn't work. Good on him.

This New Zealand hiker found a man lying in a stream in the woods with a head injury.

The hiker used his PLB to summon help (no cell coverage), but the helicopter had trouble locating them due to the tree canopy, and (judging by the photo - see linked article below) there was no place to land nearby.

The hiker found a spot of sunlight and used his signal mirror through a gap in the canopy to signal the helicopter. ( Since he's in a Commonwealth country, he refers to it as a "heliograph mirror").

A paramedic was winched down, and the victim winched out.

NZ Herald - Inventive tramper saves hurt man's life

(This earlier NZ Herald report gives the paramedics name and the date (March 31st), but doesn't mention the mirror.)
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11230314