Private jet of Peter Jackson helping in search for MH370
Peter Jackson and his daughter Katie at the 2012 premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Photo: Getty Images
The personal jet of filmmaker Peter Jackson is involved in the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
A spokesman for Jackson confirmed today that the plane had been chartered and was being operated out of Perth.
The Gulfstream jet has not been donated to the search operation but the director has personally approved its use, the New Zealand Herald reported
The spokesman for Jackson, who has a personal fortune of more than $510 million according to BRW, declined to say what payment is being made for for the jet. It is managed by the international aviation charter service Execujet in Wellington.
The spokesman would not comment on why the Gulfstream G650 was being used, except to say it had exceptional range that would be an advantage given the remoteness of the search area. The aircraft was advertised for charter.
‘‘Over the years, all of Peter’s aircraft have been available for charter and been used by a number of private clients,’’ the spokesman said.
The Joint Agency Co-ordination Centre, which is co-ordinating the search, said a civilian jet was being used as a communications relay for military aircraft searching for the Boeing 777. It would not comment further, Radio NZ reported.
Jackson bought the Gulfstream G650 in March 2013 for about $80m.
The G650 flies faster and further than any aircraft used by the New Zealand air force.
Its top speed of about 1140kmh is close to the speed of sound (1234kmh), and it has a range of 12,960 kilometres, allowing non-stop flights between Wellington and Los Angeles.
Jackson, 52, has made his fortune directing, producing and writing some of Hollywood’s most successful films, including The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit films.
