Disappearing big planes are rare events, given the extent of modern tracking data available nowadays. Nonetheless, every now and then, the disappearance of a big passenger jet flies under the public radar.
That's the case with a Boeing 727-200 that departed from Luanda's Quatro de Fevereiro Airport (LAD) 20 years ago today. The trijet took off late one afternoon and was never seen again.
A complex matter
This was no ordinary disappearance, and it had multiple layers of complexity involved. According to the Aviation Safety Network, the Boeing 727-200 (registration N844AA) was owned by a company known as Aerospace Sales & Leasing.
However, it had been stuck for over a year owing to unpaid airport fees and other disputes. The men who took the plane were not certified to fly it, but capitalized on a rough and wild flying environment with poor regulatory oversight.
After the disappearance, N844AA was considered stolen. The FBI and CIA were involved in the follow-up investigation, but these well-resourced organizations found no trace of it. Let's take a look back at how it all unfolded.
The missing plane was mired in legal disputes
At the time of the disappearance, the plane's owner, lessor Miami-based Aerospace Sales & Leasing, was reportedly in the process of transferring the plane to IRS Airlines, a short-lived Nigerian carrier. ATDB.aero shows that it had originally flown for American Airlines from 1975 to 2002, which is why the stolen aircraft was reported to have been painted silver with a red, white, and blue tricolor cheatline.
Another carrier whose name has been linked to this aircraft is short-lived Angolan cargo operator Irwin Air. ATDB.aero lists this aircraft as being the only plane that was ever registered to this airline, from February 2002 until its disappearance. This inconsistency further highlights the mysterious circumstances in which it vanished.
Late in the afternoon of May 25th, 2003 (20 years ago today), two men boarded the 727 at Luanda Airport. One was a US citizen and private pilot named Ben Padilla. The other was an Angolan named John Mutantu. Ben Padilla was a pilot but not certified to fly a Boeing 727-200. Meanwhile, John Mutantu was his offsider.
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