A digital television box in England designed to only receive signals has mysteriously generated SOS signals, triggering an air-sea rescue mission.

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Regulators with the telecommunications regulator OFCOM are examining the set belonging to a 67-year-old grandmother in Plymouth, who was unaware that while she was at the movies, her Freeview box had sent out an SOS on the same wavelength used by ships in distress.

The signal, sent out Jan. 24, was picked up by the Royal Air Force in Scotland, prompting a needless 3-hour air-sea search that cost $14,300.

Mary Donaldson told The Mirror that when she arrived home she found two men holding a massive antenna at her front door, confirming where the signal had come from.

OFCOM officials are trying to determine how the $75 dollar receiver managed to generate an SOS output signal.

Meanwhile, Donaldson said she will not be getting a new box as she would "hate to cause more bother."