Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson's private plane is searching for Malaysian jet

Lord of the Rings director Sir Peter Jackson has approved the use of his personal jet to help locate missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370. His spokesperson confirmed that his Perth-based jet has been chartered by investigators to help coordinate communication among the investigators as the hunt continues.

Jackson owns a Gulfstream G650, an "ultra-high-speed, ultra-long-range business jet" according to its manufacturer. He isn't personally involved in the search efforts and spokesman Matt Dravitzki wouldn't say how much he's being paid by the Joint Agency Coordination Center. However, critics have lambasted the lease of the luxury plane, since it's expensive to operate and the military planes currently in use are "capable of their own communications."

Dravitzki said that shouldn't be the focus. "A lot of civilian and military aircraft are involved in the search, and it's kind of disappointing that because one is owned by a celebrity it becomes a matter of news when there are [over] 200 people missing," he told Radio New Zealand.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up