Английская Википедия:2003 Angola Boeing 727 disappearance
Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Infobox aircraft occurrence
On 25 May 2003, a Boeing 727-223 airliner, registered N844AA, was stolen at Quatro de Fevereiro Airport in Luanda, Angola,[1] prompting a worldwide search by law enforcement intelligence agencies in the United States. No trace of the aircraft has been found.
Background
The incident aircraft was a Boeing 727-223 airliner, manufactured in 1975 and formerly operated by American Airlines for 25 years until 2000. Its last owner was reported to be a Miami-based company called Aerospace Sales & Leasing.[2] The aircraft had been grounded at Quatro de Fevereiro Airport in March 2002 and sat idle for fourteen months, accruing more than US$4 million in unpaid airport fees. It was one of two aircraft at the airport that were in the process of being converted for use by IRS Airlines.[3] The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) described the aircraft as "...unpainted silver in color with a stripe of blue, white, and red. The [aircraft] was formerly in the air fleet of a major airline, but all of the passenger seats have been removed. It is outfitted to carry diesel fuel."[4]
Incident
On May 25, 2003, shortly before sunset (likely to be 17:00 local time), it is believed that two men, Ben C. Padilla and John M. Mutantu, boarded the aircraft. Padilla was a pilot and flight engineer from the United States,[5] while Mutantu was a hired mechanic from the Republic of the Congo.[1] Neither of the men were certified to fly a Boeing 727 and needed an additional crew member to fly the aircraft. Padilla is believed by U.S. authorities to have been at the controls.[6] An airport employee reported seeing only one person on board the aircraft at the time;[7] other airport officials stated that two men had boarded the aircraft before the incident.[8][9]
The aircraft began taxiing without communicating with the control tower. It maneuvered erratically and entered a runway without clearance. Air traffic controllers tried to make contact, but there was no response. With no lights, the aircraft took off, heading southwest over the Atlantic Ocean before disappearing.[1] Before the incident, the aircraft was filled with Шаблон:Convert of fuel, giving it a range of about Шаблон:Convert.[9] Neither the aircraft nor the two men have been seen since, and no debris from the aircraft has been found on land or sea.[1]
Theories
Padilla's sister, Benita Padilla-Kirkland, told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in 2004 that her family suspected that he had been flying the aircraft and feared that he subsequently crashed somewhere in Africa or was being held against his will,[10] a theory shared by Aerospace Sales & Leasing president Maury Joseph, who had examined the plane two weeks before its disappearance. However, U.S. authorities suspected that Joseph's history of accounting fraud played a part, believing that the plane's theft was either caused by a business feud or resulted from a scam.[5]
In July 2003, a possible sighting of the missing aircraft was reported in Conakry, Guinea,[11][12][13] but was conclusively dismissed by the U.S. State Department.[14]
An extensive article published in Air & Space Magazine in September 2010 was also unable to draw any conclusions on the whereabouts or fate of the aircraft, despite research and interviews with persons knowledgeable of details surrounding the disappearance.[1]
See also
- List of missing aircraft
- List of people who disappeared
- 2018 Horizon Air Q400 incident, in which a Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 was stolen from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and crashed into Ketron Island
- 1990 Faucett Perú 727 disappearance, another instance of a 727 disappearance
- Varig Flight 967
- Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
- Flying Tiger Line Flight 739
References
Шаблон:Aviation accidents and incidents in 2003
- Английская Википедия
- Страницы с неработающими файловыми ссылками
- 2000s missing person cases
- Accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 727
- Airliner accidents and incidents with an unknown cause
- Aviation accidents and incidents in 2003
- Aviation accidents and incidents in Angola
- Missing aircraft
- May 2003 crimes
- 2003 in Angola
- May 2003 events in Africa
- Unsolved crimes in Angola
- Страницы, где используется шаблон "Навигационная таблица/Телепорт"
- Страницы с телепортом
- Википедия
- Статья из Википедии
- Статья из Английской Википедии
