The search for a possible downed aircraft that began last week came to an anti-climactic end at a London scrapyard.

A high-flying plane first detected an distress signal coming from somewhere in Southwestern Ontario last Thursday.

The signal, known as an electronic locating transmitter (ELT), was reported to the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Trenton.

Officials alerted the London branch of the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association, a volunteer-run organization that provides search assistance for the Royal Canadian Air Force.

“When an ELT is picked up by high flyers, they need to locate the source of the ELT,” said Camille Riggs, CASARA’s Soutwestern Ontario zone director. “If there happens to be a also report of an overdue aircraft, or a missing aircraft, then that adds an additional sense of urgency because the two may be related.”

All aircraft are outfitted with ELTs, which send out distress signals on a dedicated frequency. Newer model aircraft have ELTs that are picked up by satellites, making them easier to locate.

A four-person CASARA team — pilot, navigator and two spotters — went out Thursday night to track the signal but didn’t find anything. With assistance from the CASARA Niagara branch, the team resumed the search Monday and determined the signal was coming from within London.

The signal was eventually tracked to a scrapyard, where a plane had been dumped without disabling the emergency beacon, said Riggs, who wouldn’t reveal the exact location. Heavy machinery was used Tuesday to locate the ELT in the mounds of scrap metal, Riggs added.

dcarruthers@postmedia.com

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