Here's the story. (ANZ, not QANTAS)
“Mayday mayday.” This message of a pilot in distress on radio three days before Christmas 1978 is heard by Auckland ATC. The saga of how Jay Prochnow was finally located by the innovative navigational techniques of Captain Gordon Vette aided by Malcolm Forsyth both of Air New Zealand, Auckland ATC, Norfolk Island and the crew of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) Orion is made into a Brain Game. The Penrod, a towed oil rig with running lights, served as a beacon which enabled Captain Vette to rendezvous with Jay Prochnow.
The film was in 1993:
Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771 and starred Scott Bakula of
Quantum Leap fame.