Recently heard a low time PPL in an R22 get caught out in un-forecast bad wx. He asked the local airfield for help which they couldn't give (no VDF let alone radar or service higher than AFIS) They advised him to call 121.5. They then asked me to listen out on 121.5 and advise what was happenning. He called but was too low for local stations to get a fix (In the London area!!) two airliners came up and tried to help. Unfortunately they couldn't hear D&D because they were too far away and interrupted the relay D&D asked me to give.
Luckily the pilot had enough sense to land the aircraft as soon as he saw a clear area. The arcraft spent the night in a wet field but the pilot and passenger were safe. Unfortunately the pilots who tried to help caused confusion by not understanding a situation which was happening several hundred miles away in a country they weren't native to.
The confusion could have made things worse. A chat with the D&D controller later revealed his frustration with the situation especially as the AC in distress and myself were no more than 15 miles away from LATCC
