During this time it had accrued around $4 million in backdated airport fees. The aircraft involved was a Boeing 727-223 manufactured in 1975 and formerly operated by American Airlines who operated the aircraft for 25 years. It should be impossible to steal. u/Johnmarmalade. Read More. But some time between 5pm and 6pm on May 25th, 2003, Ben Padilla and John Mutantu did exactly that. polish teenager wakes up … So the plane had also been fitted with tanks. A ground search was also conducted by diplomats stationed in Nigeria at multiple airports without finding it. It has a capacity of 149 to 189 passengers and a range of 2,400 to 2,700 nautical miles (4,400 to 5,000 km), depending on variant. Given that this was two years since 9/11, a serious multinational multiagency search for the plane followed. The Boeing 727 in question was on lease to TAAG Angola Airlines, and it had been grounded for a period of 14 months. The aircraft had been destroyed in an accident in Lagos. On December 5, 1960, the 727 was launched with 40 orders each from United Airlines and Eastern Air Lines. What if there had been a third person in the plane that no one outside noticed? The plane was stolen from the Quatro de Fevereiro Airport, Luanda, Angola. Boeing was also still grappling with the startup and production costs of the 707. After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airports. The jet was built in 1969, but has been upgraded ever since. JetPhotos.com is the biggest database of aviation photographs with … Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Like stealing a car back from an impound lot. The plane has not been seen for four weeks. There are fears that terrorist have taken control of the aircraft. Then, what happened to the stolen American Airlines Boeing 727-223?? On May 25, 2003 at Quatro de Feveriro International Airport in Angol, shortly before sunset on a clear day, Ben Charles Padilla was seen boarding a Boeing 727 that he had previously been hired to work on. A massive search was conducted by the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), but not a single clue has since been found. Its last owner was reported to be Miami-based company Aerospace Sales & Leasing. It was no use. 6 years ago. Clearance for takeoff was not requested or given. The real HZ-SNE was a Boeing 727-200, serial number 22644, which had been operated by DHL. They sneaked out to Johannesburg, leaving only Gabriel in Luanda. Now, the plane was all alone in a land miles away from home, abandoned. Mutantu was a Congolese aircraft mechanic on a short-term contract. Intended for short-haul routes, the 727 is capable of operating out of restricted length runways and smaller airports. Close. The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body three-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Close. The tower officers tried to make contact, but there was no response. At 47 meters long and 10 meters wide, the Boeing 727-223 is a massive plane in a heavily regulated sector. So the plane’s owner, Miami-based Aerospace Sales & Leasing, sent Padilla to Angola to repair the plane and fly it to Johannesburg. Boeing 727 Two Men Weird Facts Did You Know Two By Two Aircraft Rockets Airplanes Strange Facts. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. One theory regarding this plane is that someone wanted to hijack the plane which made the pilot and aviation engineer Ben Charles Padilla take off the plane and disappear with it. So if it wasn’t terrorism, why did Padilla and Mutantu steal the jet? The question of motive remains speculation, and diving into the plane’s back story provides no solid clues. Padilla’s siblings added another twist here, that Padilla had said that if he was ever kidnapped, he would crash the plane into the ground or water. The flight was scheduled for May 26th. The only problem was that neither Angola nor the hijackers could ever find the plane again. Saved by Scott Ticknor Realty Associates. It is believed that shortly before the sunset of May 25, 2003, two men named Ben C. Padilla and John M. Mutantu boarded the aircraft to get the flight-ready. TIL A Boeing 727 aircraft was stolen out of an airport in 2003. African hunt for stolen Boeing. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. 2.5k. Enter your email address below to subscribe to our newsletter. They suggested he and Mutantu may have been forced to steal the plane, and then killed. Pyramids Of Ancient Greece: The Mysterious Hellinikon Pyramid Is Older Than Giza? 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