An emergency locator beacon which sparked a search and
rescue mission near Tonga has been found on a moored fishing
boat.
An air force Orion took off from Whenuapai early today after
the signal was picked up yesterday by a commercial aircraft.
However, the air force said the signal was later found to be
on a fishing boat at a wharf, possibly in Tonga, and there
was no emergency.
The Orion was the same aircraft which aborted a takeoff from
Whenuapai in Auckland yesterday and declared a full
emergency when the cockpit filled with fumes.
The problem was later found to be in an avionic component
with oil in it which had overheated.