Missing Palau Plane: Billionaire Paul Allen’s Super-Yacht Joins The Search Flotilla

Paul Allen, the billionaire Microsoft co-founder, has graciously lent his super-yacht and two helicopters aboard the vessel to search for a missing plane carrying two Palau police officers and one American pilot. The plane disappeared over the weekend after pursuing a large Chinese boat which was involved in an illegal poaching operation in a Palau marine reserve.

Allen’s 414-foot yacht comes equipped with a remote-controlled submersible, two helicopters, and a submarine. The yacht is named the Octopus and was sailing in the region in support of James Cameron, the film directory who recently took to an expedition to explore the depths of the Mariana Trench which is located just a little ways off from Palau.

Chinese vessels were caught poaching giant clams in a Palau marine reserve on Saturday. The subsequent confrontation by local authorities resulted in the shooting death of one of the Chinese crew members. One of the Chinese boats was set on fire by crew members after being pursued by law enforcement.

The Octopus, Paul Allen’s yacht, received a radio transmission from the distressed plane and alerted the United States Coast Guard. Lieutenant j.g. Richard Russell, spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard, was quoted saying:

“He’s being very modest about his participation. I’m not sure if he’s still on board. But for the last few days, he’s been lending us both his helicopters in aid of the search. He’s been a huge help.”

Norbert Yano, Palau’s directory of public safety, said that six Chinese fishermen were observed diving into the Ngeruangel Atoll marine reserve over several days in search of giant clams. The poachers were then confronted and as a chase ensued, a Chinese boat executed a risky maneuver which caused Palau authorities to fire at the vessel’s engines. During the incident, one of the poachers was accidentally shot in the thigh and later died after a nurse’s attempts to stop the patient from bleeding to death were unsuccessful.

Of the six initial fisherman caught in the act of poaching, one died and the other five were arrested. The arrested five later told Palau authorities of a nearby mother ship which was then located by a patrol boat. After discovering the location of the mother ship, an all-night chase ensued which eventually came to an end as authorities realized that the ship had been set on fire by its crew who then abandoned the vessel prior to being caught.

Frank Ohlinger, the missing American citizen, was enlisted by Palau authorities to fly two Palau officers to the burning ship in order to capture photographic evidence before the Chinese vessel sank into its watery grave.

Willy Towai and Earl Decherong are the two Palau officers who are currently missing. Palau President Johnson Toribiong was quoted saying:

“I ask for your prayers for the captain and these two fine young police officers.”

In a transmission sent by Ohlinger from the now missing Palau airplane, he conveyed the failing of his GPS navigation system. In response, the lights at the airport were switched onto maximum brightness and flares were shot into the sky in an attempt to guide the plane back to the airport for a safe landing.

The final transmission, which was received at 8:15 P.M., conveyed the quickly diminishing fuel supply situation as Ohlinger indicated that he was within mere minutes of running completely out of fuel.

Their odds of survival are increased by the relatively warm water around Palau.

Hopefully the flotilla, which includes Paul Allen‘s mega-yacht, will locate the missing American pilot and two Palau police officers who disappeared.

Court records indicate there are 25 Chinese fishermen currently facing numerous charges which include illegal fishing.

What do you think happened to the missing Palau plane?