US reconnaissance planes lost track of the Mayaguez crew when the trawler they were on arrived at the port of Kompong Som on mainland Cambodia. Because of that, US planners continued to plan for a rescue under the assumption that the crew was split between the Mayaguez itself and Koh Tang island and their estimate of how many Khmer soldier were on Koh Tang was off by 90%. Both of which led to a rescue plan that would not be well suited for the reality on the ground.
Oh, and the reconnaissance photos the Marines used to plan the operation was taken with one of their officer's personal 35-mm camera from 4500 feet above the island because apparently no other photos of Koh Tang existed in Thailand where the planning was taking place.
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