The Orion sircraft and its crew had been tasked to support a search and rescue mission in the area on Friday after the 27-metre, island trader MV Solfish 001 failed to arrive at its designated port of Lata earlier in the week. Chief of Joint Operations Lieutenant General Ash Power said the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s, Rescue Coordination Centre – Australia, sought Australian Defence Force assistance in searching a 6,000 square kilometre area to the East South –East of Honiara on Friday. “With a search area that large, the AP-3C’s unique capabilities, particularly the data captured from sonobuoys, allowed specialists at the Rescue Coordination Centre – Australia to refine the zone, ultimately leading to the successful recovery,” Lieutenant General Power said.
