2003 Angola Boeing 727 disappearance

Stolen aircraft incident at Quatro de Fevereiro Airport October 2026 November 2025 2003 Angola Boeing 727 disappearance Disappearance N844AA American AL Boeing 727 St Louis 7th October 1981.jpg N844AA, the aircraft involved in the disappearance, when still in service with American Airlines in 1981 2003 5 25 yes Disappearance; presumed theft, but whereabouts unknown Quatro de Fevereiro Airport, Luanda, Luanda, Angola 2 (unconfirmed) 0 2 2 08 51 30 S 13 13 52 E type:event inline,title Boeing 727-223 Aerospace Sales & Leasing N844AA Quatro de Fevereiro Airport, Luanda, Angola On 25 May 2003, a Boeing 727 airliner, registered as N844AA, was stolen at Quatro de Fevereiro Airport in Luanda, Angola on the west-central coast of Southern Africa, prompting a worldwide search by law enforcement and intelligence agencies in the United States. No trace of the aircraft has ever been found. Background The incident aircraft was a Boeing 727-223 airliner, serial number 20985,5 July 2024 Aircraft Inquiry https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/Search/NNumberResult?NNumberTxt=844AA 5 July 2024 5 July 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20240705204607/https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/Search/NNumberResult?NNumberTxt=844AA manufactured in 1975 and operated by American Airlines for 25 years until 2000. Its last owner was reportedly a US company called Aerospace Sales & Leasing.http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/N844AA.html Aircraft N844AA Profile airport-data.com 15 July 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20140224185100/http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/N844AA.html 24 February 2014 live The aircraft had been grounded at Quatro de Fevereiro Airport in March 2002 and sat idle for fourteen months, accruing more than US$50,000 in unpaid airport fees. It was one of two aircraft there in the process of being converted for use by Nigerian IRS Airlines.Into thin air https://www.smh.com.au/world/into-thin-air-20030815-gdh94u.html https://web.archive.org/web/20180814040711/https://www.smh.com.au/world/into-thin-air-20030815-gdh94u.html 14 August 2018 en-UShttp://www.airliners.net/photo/1128509 N843AA and N844AA at Miami - Opa-locka [OPF] Cederholm Justin 19 January 2002 airliners.net 16 March 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20140310200336/http://www.airliners.net/photo/1128509 10 March 2014 live 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 had been removed. It was outfitted to carry diesel fuel."https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/seekinfo/padilla.htm FBI Seeking Information – Ben Charles Padilla Mueller Robert S. 25 May 2003 https://web.archive.org/web/20060310060514/https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/seekinfo/padilla.htm 10 March 2006 fbi.gov 15 July 2013 Incident thumb|left|The approximate range of the 727 on the day it disappeared On 25 May 2003, shortly before sunset (likely to be 17:00 WAT), 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, while Mutantu was a French-Congolese citizen hired mechanic from the Republic of the Congo.http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2003/05/29/867049.htm Plane disappears after mystery take-off 29 May 2003 abc.net.au 15 July 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20110221012603/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2003/05/29/867049.htm 21 February 2011 dead A crew of three is required to fly a Boeing 727, and neither of the two were certified to fly it. U.S. authorities believed Padilla was at the controls.https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3003058.stm BBC News African hunt for stolen Boeing 19 June 2003 19 May 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100918054103/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3003058.stm 18 September 2010 live An airport employee reported seeing only one person on board the aircraft at the time; other airport officials stated two men boarded the aircraft before the incident.http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/Missing-jet-linked-to-terrorism-20030623 Missing jet linked to terrorism 23 June 2003 news24.com 15 July 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20140427214554/http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/Missing-jet-linked-to-terrorism-20030623 27 April 2014 livehttp://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/14/1060588523649.html Into thin air 15 August 2003 The Sydney Morning Herald 15 November 2007 https://web.archive.org/web/20070810105609/http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/14/1060588523649.html 10 August 2007 live 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. Before the incident, the aircraft was filled with 53000 l gal of fuel, giving it a range of about 2400 km mi nmi. Neither the aircraft nor the two men were seen since, and no debris from the aircraft was found.Wright Tim September 2010 The 727 that Vanished http://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/the-727-that-vanished-2371187/?all live https://web.archive.org/web/20140511015522/http://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/the-727-that-vanished-2371187/?all 11 May 2014 10 March 2014 Air & Space Magazine Hypotheses 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,http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2004-01-03-angola-benin-mystery_x.htm Questions arise over W. Africa jet crash USA Today Das Saurabh 2 January 2004 15 July 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20130913013116/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2004-01-03-angola-benin-mystery_x.htm 13 September 2013 live a hypothesis 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.Good Meaghan Elizabeth Ben Charles Padilla Jr. http://charleyproject.org/case/ben-charles-padilla-jr live https://web.archive.org/web/20191109225251/http://charleyproject.org/case/ben-charles-padilla-jr 9 November 2019 15 July 2013 www.charleyproject.org The Charley Project In July 2003, a possible sighting of the missing aircraft was reported in Conakry, Guinea,http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=737812003 https://archive.today/20120727083521/http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=737812003 dead 27 July 2012 Missing plane turns up in Guinea 7 July 2003 scotsman.com 15 July 2013 http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/07/07/1057430142952.html The Sydney Morning Herald Mystery Boeing briefly resurfaces after disappearance 8 July 2003 15 November 2007 https://web.archive.org/web/20071201121652/http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/07/07/1057430142952.html 1 December 2007 live https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/jul/07/jamesastill Plane in terrorism scare turns up sporting a respray TheGuardian.com 7 July 2003 but this claim was conclusively dismissed by the U.S. State Department.http://www.qsl.net/n4tyv/counter5.htm Counterterrorism qsl.net 16 September 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100329092049/http://www.qsl.net/n4tyv/counter5.htm 29 March 2010 live An extensive article published in Air & Space/Smithsonian magazine in September 2010 was unable to draw any conclusions on the fate of the aircraft, despite research and interviews with persons knowledgeable of details surrounding the disappearance. See also List of missing aircraft List of people who disappeared mysteriously: post-1970 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 Boeing 727 disappearance, another instance of a 727 disappearance Varig Flight 967 Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Flying Tiger Line Flight 739 References 30em Category:2000s missing person cases Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 727 Angola 727 disappearance Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Angola Category:Missing aircraft Angola 727 disappearance 727 disappearance Angola 727 disappearance Category:Unsolved crimes in Angola