- Authorities mounted a frantic search for plane after emergency beacon went off
- They tracked the aircraft to the RAAF Museum and found it crashed 21 years ago
- The aging batteries inside the EPIRB had corroded, causing it to sound the alarm
A frantic search for a plane triggered by an emergency beacon ended in surprise when authorities located the aircraft in an unexpected location.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority scrambled to find the plane, only to track it to the RAAF Museum in Point Cook, in Melbourne’s south-west.
The Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon was located inside a plane that crashed 21 years ago and is in storage at the museum.
A plane was found at the RAAF Museum (pictured) after its emergency beacon went off
Senior investigator Holly Buckle was part of them team which chased the EPIRB signal last week, 3AW reported.
‘That was the problem with why this went off when it did, the batteries had corroded and that’s what set it off,’ she said.
‘The RAAF have plans to do up that plane and have it as a static installation at their museum and it was in storage.’
She said the ACMA is regularly called out to respond to signals from EPIRBs, with calls to rubbish tips being especially common.
EPIRBs are tracking transmitters which help emergency services locate ships and aircraft in distress.
The beacon went off from inside the aircraft despite the plane, which has been stored at the museum in Point Cook, Victoria, crashing 21 years ago (stock image)