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Air Canada crew, passengers help locate yacht in distress off Australia Read it on G

Quote:

SYDNEY, Australia - Air Canada is being credited with helping rescue officials pinpoint the location of a yacht in trouble off the coast of Australia.

A solo yachtsman left Pittwater, on Sydney's northern beaches, two weeks ago heading for Eden on the New South Wales south coast.

Australian media reported an emergency beacon was activated early Tuesday with the man reporting that his boat had been drifting away from land since last week.

Because of the remote location, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority asked two airliners passing over the man's GPS position to help confirm his whereabouts.

An Air Canada Boeing 777 flying to Sydney from Vancouver subsequently diverted from its course to check on the distressed yacht about 435 kilometres east of Sydney.

An Air New Zealand A320, heading to Sydney from New Zealand also went off course to locate the yacht.

Air Canada said its plane swooped down at about 1,200 metres while the crew peered out using binoculars borrowed from a passenger.

Travellers on board the aircraft were also asked to keep watch, the airline said.

They were drawn to the yacht's location by light shining off a mirror.

"They did spot the boat and then they passed over it just to let the guy know that they had seen him," said spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick.

"Everybody on board was really happy and excited by the outcome," even though it delayed the flight by roughly 90 minutes, he said.

With the boat's location confirmed, a police vessel was dispatched to the demasted yacht, which was running low on fuel and drifting further out to sea.

A maritime safety official said police would make a judgment call when they arrived as to whether the man needed to abandon ship.

© The Canadian Press, 2012

Read it on Global News: Global News | Air Canada crew, passengers help locate yacht in distress off Australia

Global News | Air Canada crew, passengers help locate yacht in distress off Australia

I like the fact that the airliners went out of their way to search for the boat. Time is money for airlines...

Just imagine how happy that guy in the boat was when they flew low right over him to show him they saw him. He was literally drifting in a massive body of water with no landmarks. Just goes to show you how important it is to know your stuff, too. That little $5 dollar signal mirror saved his hide.

Holy crap.

A feel good story for today, warms my heart a little :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by trollface (Post 8056968)

Just imagine how happy that guy in the boat was when they flew low right over him to show him they saw him.

This. You never see commercial airliners flying low except when taking off/landing. He was probably happy mixed with a little bit of WTF.

Cool story, for real. :)

Imagine yourself sitting there seeing a plane come that low in the middle of the ocean :heckno:

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackmeister (Post 8057288)

Imagine yourself sitting there seeing a plane come that low in the middle of the ocean :heckno:

it would be the greatest feeling even knowning you are going to be ok. Think about how scary it would be floating in the open sea thinking you may die.

so that was the news i saw on tv while at work... had the volume turned off...

nice.. AC does something good.. haha i guess since it would help boost their PR..

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackmeister (Post 8057288)

Imagine yourself sitting there seeing a plane come that low in the middle of the ocean :heckno:

it says 1200m....not 100ft

Quote:

Originally Posted by twitchyzero (Post 8057364)

it says 1200m....not 100ft

Approximately 4,000 feet, so about the height airliners are at when we see them on final approach to YVR over the area around Surrey Memorial Hospital, or when we see them from the Alex Fraser Bridge.

Not exactly low, but surprising nonetheless when you're out at sea away from any airport and not expecting a massive 777 to fly past you. I'd think I was going crazy if I was the guy in the boat :lol

There was a very similar story like this. Guy was drifting in a raft, saw a plane and it flew right over him. He thought they saw him and started eating all his food/drinks so celebrate. Turns out they never saw him and he just screwed up his rations for the next few weeks.

So what happened to his anchor? Don't boats have anchors so this doesn't happen?

Are there any other sources with more info? How did he start to drift away?

Quote:

Originally Posted by seakrait (Post 8056891)

I like the fact that the airliners went out of their way to search for the boat. Time is money for airlines...

was it the airlines call or the pilots call? regardless now the airline will say it was its call for the good press
Posted via RS Mobile

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dragon-88 (Post 8057426)

So what happened to his anchor? Don't boats have anchors so this doesn't happen?

Are there any other sources with more info? How did he start to drift away?

Depends on how big this boat is. The ocean he's sitting on can be MILES deep and would never be big enough/long enough to touch the ground. The Anchor would just slow the drift. Also, drifting may not be a bad thing when you're lost at sea. At least the ppl looking for you can look at your last location, look at the currents/tides/winds and predict where you will be or you'll end up on land if you're lucky.