latest on search
Chopper searchers buoyed by signals
17 November 2005 ex NZPA
Distress beacon signals being picked up from an area southwest of Hamilton have buoyed searchers looking for Auckland liquor magnate Michael Erceg and his missing helicopter.
As a result of the signals picked up by the private search team the national Rescue Co-ordination Centre (RCC) is also to put up a helicopter today, a week after the official search ended.
Last night private search controller Roger Smith said three beacon signals had been picked up by a two-person team with direction finders on Mt Pirongia, southwest of Hamilton, about 9.30pm on Monday.
The team had also picked up another signal about 6.30am yesterday.
A signal had also been picked up by a commercial plane at 4.46pm yesterday South-west of Hamilton, and an air force airplane following five minutes behind had picked up the "very weak" same beacon, Mr Smith said.
"It's a very positive feeling today. We now feel as though we're finally starting to narrow the search area down."
Mr Erceg's Eurocopter was last seen on radar on November 4 about half an hour after it took off from Ardmore Airfield in Auckland on a flight to Queenstown. Mr Erceg, one of the country's richest men, was the pilot and his passenger was a Dutch beer company executive Guus Klatte.
AdvertisementAdvertisementIt was believed Mr Erceg had reached Mokau on the coast north of New Plymouth on his way to his first planned refuelling stop at Wanganui, but turned back because of the weather and had been heading for Auckland or Hamilton, Mr Smith said.
The private searchers believe the official search, which concentrated on Taranaki, had been looking in the wrong area.
Last night Mr Smith said a fixed wing aircraft, with detection gear, was in the air as he was speaking and would try to pick up the signal.
There had to be something out there, he said.
"This (Mr Erceg's) helicopter's beacon didn't go off as it was supposed to, so it's malfunctioned for some reason."
But it could give off the randomly pulsing signal being picked up now.
RCC spokesman Lindsay Sturt said the searchers had notified the centre yesterday afternoon of a weak signal in the Raglan area, roughly on the flight path of the missing aircraft.
RCC was sending up a helicopter this morning to have a look, although the detection of the signal was being treated as a separate beacon notification, he said.
The centre had not picked up the beacon itself nor had it been picked up by satellite.