[Anna Tortuga]

Lucky them!

Originally Posted by bemarshall

How do you get so lucky?! I like the last quote. Sounds like they are really roughing it.

Four prominent Louisiana couples who have been stranded on a remote island in the Pacific Ocean for nearly a week are expected to be rescued today after the Federal Aviation Administration finally gave approval for the rescue flight.

A group of 12 people, on what was supposed to be a five-day trip sponsored by the Nature Conservancy, have been stuck since Saturday on the island of Palmyra after their chartered aircraft experienced engine problems in Honolulu.

Palmyra, a research base with outposts affiliated with numerous universities, is located about 1,000 miles south of Hawaii.

New Orleans businessman Bill Kearney identified the local couples as:

-- Businessmen John Koerner of New Orleans, the reigning Rex, and his wife, Ann. Koerner is the owner of Koerner Capital Corporation and former owner of Barq's Root Beer.

-- Businessman Tommy Coleman of New Orleans and his wife, Dathel. Coleman owns International-Matex Tank Terminals, based in New Orleans.

-- Baton Rouge businessman Kevin Reilly and his wife, Winifred. Reilly is chairman and CEO of Lamar Advertising, headquartered in Baton Rouge.

Kearney could not confirm media reports that Keith Ochley of St. Francisville, and his wife, Lila, were also among the group. Ochley is the Louisiana Nature Conservancy director.

The group is in no danger and have been in contact with family at home by way of a satellite telephone, said Kearney, an executive at one of the companies owned by John Georges, the Coleman's son-in-law.

Kearney said the rescue was delayed because of FAA rules limiting the kinds of aircraft that can land on the airstrip on Palmyra, which is made of ground coral.

Sen. David Vitters office, who was contacted by John Georges about the situation, worked with the FAA to expedite approval for adding an external fuel tank to the plane used to make the rescue, a spokesperson said.

A Cessna outfitted with an extra fuel tank left Honolulu on Wednesday and arrived on Christmas Island where the pilot is preparing today to pick up the stranded visitors on Palmyra, about two hours away.

The plane is small, so it will require two trips between Christmas Island and Palmyra to transport all 12 passengers, according to Kent Comstock, a director of Pacific Air Charters Inc., the company that owns the plane.

Comstock said that the Nature Conservancy has chartered a jet to take the visitors from Christmas Island to Honolulu Friday afternoon. He said the rescue operation was delayed while the company waited for FAA approval for the long- over-water flight.

The government agency was apparently wary of allowing the Cessna to make the 1,160-mile trip to Christmas Island for fear that it would run out of fuel.

Comstock said that over the weekend his company installed an additional 75-gallon tank as backup and the FAA finally gave its OK on Tuesday. The plane took off early the next morning.

"Our pilot took off yesterday at 2 a.m.," Comstock said. "Anything involving aviation is very complicated. The FAA is worried about safety. That is their mission."

He said that visitors on Palmyra have access to food, water, air conditioning and electricity.

"I'm sure they are fine," he said. "If there were any medical issues I would have heard about it."

A Coast Guard official on Honolulu said that the group didn't appear to be in any danger.

"We only rescue when people are in distress and there's plenty of food and water out there," Brendan Ritz, controller of the search and rescue team. "It's like Gilligan's Island."

According to Ritz, the plane that was to have picked the dozen Nature Conservancy supporters -- a Grumman Gulfstream 1 -- blew an engine as it was preparing to fly to pick them up.

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported that the Grumman Gulfstream 1 was the only aircraft certified to make the trip on a regular basis.

Kearney said although the stranded people have all the provisions they need on the island, they were anxious to return home because of families and obligations.

"Waiting for the FAA to sign a document is absurd."

But Sean Reilly of Baton Rouge said his brother Kevin wasn't too unhappy about being stranded on a tropical, sun-drenched atoll in the Pacific Ocean with ready access to fishing.

"Kevin is having a ball," Sean said. "He's a fly fisherman. He told me the only problem was there was a shortage of bone fishing flies." Sean is president and chief operating officer of Lamar Advertising.

Sean said he has been text-messaging with his brother over the past few days and they were also in touch by satellite telephone. Sean has begun referring to his brother playfully as Gilligan.

"They are making the best of it," Sean said. "They haven't lost their corkscrew yet."