please help a new player: lifeguard mission

[Lujan]

Hi all

I got SH4 a few days ago and was pretty overwhelmed by the complexity, I havent played one of these titles before. I thought I was doing ok and getting the hang of it, but today I got my first lifeguard mission, and now Im stumped.

Ive read up on what you are supposed to do, and as far as I know im doing it, but nobody is getting rescued. I go to a blue marker on my map for a downed pilot, I look for red smoke so I know he's allied, I surface, I slow down and stop next to him, but no matter where I point the binoculars, crosshairs on the pilot, on the smoke, above, beyond, below him/it... the crosshairs dont change colour (like I've read they should) and the life preserver button remains greyed out.

Can anyone tell me where im going wrong here? I am enjoying the career mode, I dont want to have to start over every time i get this type of mission