The Airbus was nice, but not necessary. The fishing boat that picked her up was being told the lats/lons continuously being chirped out by the GPS in the EPIRB.
All they got from the plane was “yes, I’m okay” on a handheld shortrange VHF radio.
The fishing boat could have done a sail past look see, and picked her up not one minute later than it did with the “help” of the Quantas Airbus.
The Quantas jet did not “find” Abbey. She was never lost, with her GPS/EPIRB bleeping.
Yes, and if she hadn’t been in the yacht, every plane the Australian government could have got airborne with the range would have been sent out to search for her.
The point of the flypast was to see if anything else needed to be done. It didn’t, thankfully. It doesn’t mean there was no point to it.
Same as two Orions were put on station in case they were needed. Everybody knew they probably wouldn’t be, but you check to find out.
The ADF Force and AMSA have been doing this a long time - Australia has one of the largest maritime rescue zones in the world, including some of the most treacherous and isolated ocean. We know how to do it.
Hope for the best and plan for the worst.
Just a point. The EPIRB wasn’t lost. You know, sometimes the pirb and the crew aren’t together.