American round-the-world sailor Mr. Michael Plant after his yacht was found capsized and abandoned in the Atlantic yesterday.

A spokesman at the British Air Force Rescue Coordination Centre in Plymouth, England, said the sailing vessel Coyote was discovered 460 miles north of the Azores by the tanker Protank Orinoco .

According to Orinoco's report, the hull was intact but the keel bulb (the weighted end of the keel) was missing. A Plymouth spokesman said the 42-year-old yachtsman may still be alive and drifting in a dinghy which was missing when the Coyote was found.

"When the keel dropped off, the boat would capsize immediately with no warning. The dinghy on board was designed to float free immediately in this type of situation. If Mike Plant was able to get to it there is a good chance that he has survived,'' the spokesman said.

A Royal Air Force NIMROD surveillance plane was scouring the seas using radar and dropping powerful green flares every 20 miles in flight to assist in the search. Three US Coast Guard planes also flew to Shannon, Ireland, yesterday to join in the hunt this morning.

The Coast Guard suspended its search on Thursday but announced on Saturday it was resuming because of Mr. Plant's past successes in overcoming great hardships and surviving long periods at sea.

Mr. Plant, who has circumnavigated the world single-handed three times, left New York on October 16 on what was expected to be a two-week crossing.

He has not been heard from since October 21, when he said he had lost electrical power.

Canadian officials picked up Mr. Plant's distress signal on October 27 but it was not identified until later.