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Missing Plane,Pilot Baffle Investigators

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Jedi_Cheese

Remove your shoes please!
Joined
Apr 2, 2004
Posts
494
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/US/World/missing_plane_040419-1.html

Without a Trace
Mysterious Disappearance of Boeing 727 and Pilot Remains Unsolved

By Adrienne Mand


April 19 — Ben Charles Padilla, an aircraft mechanic, flight engineer and cargo pilot, traveled the world plying his trade for various private companies.

He'd often keep in touch with family members from faraway locales, so it was no surprise in May 2003 when he replied to an e-mail about his mother having a heart attack with news that he was in Africa refurbishing a plane and would contact her as soon as he could.

His family has not heard from him since, and the FBI believes the 51-year-old was aboard a Boeing 727 that took off without authorization from an airport in Angola on May 25 and promptly vanished. At the time, U.S. officials told ABCNEWS they suspected the plane was stolen to run drugs or guns, and some theorized it was crashed for insurance money.

Though there was fear that the former passenger plane, which the FBI says was reconfigured to carry diesel fuel, could be in the hands of terrorists eyeing a Sept. 11-style attack, there was no evidence to link it to terrorism.

The incident touched off an intensive investigation by U.S. intelligence agencies that continues nearly a year later. The plane and Padilla remain unaccounted for — and the mysterious circumstances around their disappearance leave many unanswered questions.

How could a plane vanish? Who has it now? And what happened to Padilla, who was no stranger to assignments like the one that took him to Angola?

Waiting for a Break

"It's been almost a year and I know really no more now than I did in the beginning," said Joseph Padilla of Pensacola, Fla., younger brother of the missing man. Family members are baffled by his disappearance but maintain Ben Padilla would not knowingly have been involved in any illegal activities.

Joseph Padilla suspects there may have been some sort of dispute of ownership between the company that hired his brother and someone else, and that Ben got caught in the middle.

Joseph Padilla stays in contact with the FBI and State Department for updates on the case and provides them with leads from reporters and his own research.

There have been glimmers of hope for a breakthrough — a crash in Benin at Christmastime, a tip that the plane had been spotted in Guinea — but investigators have told him they were not the missing plane.

"[The investigation] is still ongoing," said FBI Special Agent Jeff Westcott. "We're investigating possibilities. Every now and then a lead will come in. The FBI, working with our agents overseas, will aggressively pursue that." But so far, he said, the leads "haven't amounted to anything."

The agency is considering any scenario, including terrorism, but "we really don't speculate," said Westcott. "It's a concern — I wouldn't really characterize it beyond that."

The State Department, which is in charge of locating missing persons abroad, has not learned much about Padilla's whereabouts. "It's still open," said Stuart Patt, spokesman for the Bureau of Consular Affairs at the Department of State. "We stay in touch with the family of the pilot, but they haven't heard anything. We haven't heard anything. It's really been a very long time since we've had any news or even any leads.

"Certainly there are a lot of hypotheticals," Patt said, without giving specifics. "We just don't have any basis yet for really being able to give an answer that would be meaningful."

A Frustrating Process

Joseph Padilla, who is retired, spends much of his time checking in with the FBI and State Department and looking for information about the case on the Internet. "I always look at every news organization in America and across the world," he said. "I do that late at night, almost daily."

He is being helped by Florida attorney Martin Pedata, who is working pro bono to try to obtain more information.

The government agencies have said they cannot be more open because of privacy provisions in the Freedom of Information Act that would require Ben Padilla's consent for his relatives to learn more.

Pedata hopes to establish a conservatorship, which would legally allow someone in the Padilla family to act on behalf of Ben, but there's no precedent for the current situation. "There's really no case out there that says this could be done," he said. "Theoretically, under Florida law, the conservator could step into the shoes to try to get around the defense that they can't tell more details."

Meanwhile, the family — which has already lost two other siblings — has struggled through holidays without Ben and "not knowing the status of my brother is just about to drive us crazy."

"The government can see that we are ordinary people," Joseph Padilla said, saying he's told investigators, "'Look, I'm a big boy now. You can tell me if my brother's deceased and you know it.' "

But they don't know, nor do they know the fate of the last plane that was in his charge. And that worries Joseph Padilla, too.

"As an individual, I could care less about this plane," he said. "But as an American, I want it found because this plane has 10 500-gallon fuel tanks."
 
rumor

I think that this 727 was leased by Aerospace Sales or some other similar name in which Murray Joseph was involved. Like many aged aircraft, there is always some hope when you lease one to Africa that you might get paid.

Some feel that the aircraft was being repossessed. The way you do that is basically steal the aircraft by paying people to fuel and look the other way.

Most of the time, from there, you are going to go out to sea and fly along the coast north until in more friendly climates. It is possible that this aircraft crashed at Sea. There was a runmor that a radio call had been head indicating they were ditching.

There was a 727 from Faucett Peru that went down in the North Atlantic and was never found as well.
 
Perhaps LegalEagle knows where it is. If so ... I'm sure he'll phone the FAA soon.

Minh
 
The search is over...........

http://www.airplanehomes.com/images/b727rendering.jpg

We are offering a B727-200 aircraft for reuse as a home. It is our intention to deliver and set the airplane up on a column and bearing arrangement so it weathervanes. We have tried to define what we consider a “basic” airplane home. This project has all the complexities of a normal home and we will try to deliver and install it to the buyers needs, within the following limitations.

Deposit: A $2000 deposit is required to hold an Airplane Home in your name. Our team will dispatch an Architect and/or General Contractor to your land to survey, inspect and permit the site for installation. Let our experts find out if this project can be done. If for any reason we are unable to put an Airplane Home on your property we will cheerfully refund your entire deposit. If you decide for any reason that you do not want to build the Airplane Home, you will forfeit the deposit.

Boeing 727-200 Aircraft Fuselage Includes:

Exterior includes everything to make the outside look finished including radome, cockpit windows replaced with Lexan, all cabin external doors, all cabin windows, both wings removed and reinstalled at the wing root, includes the center engine inlet. Both upper and lower rudders and tabs are included to give the vertical stabilizer a complete appearance. Rudders are secured so they will not move. Landing gear doors are included and are in the up and closed position to give a streamlined external appearance. If your home is erected at 4 ft above the ground you will use the air stair doors to enter the home. If you want your home erected at elevations 5-20 ft we will construct wing stairs for your entrance. Wing rails will be an available free option.

Interior includes a basic finished interior as shown in the interior photo. Interior includes a center ceiling air conditioning duct and ceiling panels with fluorescent lights. A $5,000 budget is allowed for a basic kitchen. Overhead bins are available on request at no additional charge. Sidewall panels with window shades are included. Aircraft is delivered with a $3,000 budget for flooring; we recommend carpet or wood flooring. We will include one fully functional bathroom using conventional home fixtures. There is a $3,000 budget for painting the outside of the fuselage to the buyer’s requirements.

A 375,000 lb. capacity bearing is included (empty airplane weighs about 45,000 lbs). This auction includes the local architect, general contractor and mechanical engineering fees required to complete the project and the work Max Power Aerospace, Inc. has to do coordinating their efforts to complete the project successfully.

The expense of boring a hole for the footer is included. The bolt ring to be buried and cemented in the footer hole is included. Also included with the supporting steel column is steel flanges attached to each end. The steel flanges fasten to the footer bolt ring on the bottom and the inner ring of the bearing on the top. Crane rental fees to assemble and install the aircraft on the bearing are included. A heating and air conditioning system are included. A multi-port swivel is included to pass drinking water, electricity and phone lines up and waste water down. Max Power makes a “carrier” that connects the aircraft to the outer ring of the bearing and it is included. A conventional circuit breaker box is included and wiring to accommodate normal electrical requirements.

Does not include: Any aircraft parts that can be sold back to the aviation industry. This sale does not include aircraft engines. Center engine inlet (#2) is included, both pod engines (#1 & #3) are removed and the engine pylons are removed and the pylon areas are covered for a smooth external appearance. No landing gears or related parts are included. All the aircraft hydraulic and electric pumps and motors are removed. The cockpit has the pilot seats removed and all the avionics and instruments removed. Site preparation is not included in this auction. The buyer shall be responsible for supplying necessary utilities to the base of the column. We will take the utilities from the base of the column inside. The swivel cannot accommodate LP gas and therefore we recommend electrical appliances be used. This auction does not include any kitchen appliances.

Utilities: Bidder will provide utilities to the construction site.

Shipping: We will ship all required parts to the final location.

Options are available over and above the basic model offered in this auction.

Wing Stairs (second set - required for commercial use) $20K installed.
A functioning cockpit can be installed, based on the Microsoft Flight Simulator. $11K

Rebate Available: A $2000 rebate is available for owners that advertise our logo on the Airplane Home Tail.

Owner Financing Available: To qualified buyers.
 
I thought this above mentioned 27 was the one that crashed in the middle east a few months ago? Atleast that was the speculation at the time but I didn't think any definitive conclusion had been reached...


3 5 0
 
that's classic Snakum.

i can see it now "legaleagle vs. joe bloe for performing flat spins 30 feet AGL while wife and child slept in the back."
 
performing flat spins 30 feet AGL while wife and child slept in the back
You do that too! :eek: And I thought I was the only one. :D

Minh
 
B-727 N844AA

Myself and five other crewmembers ferried this aircraft to Luanda in March of 2002. The aircraft was set up as a fuel hauler to carry fuel into the diamond mines around Angola. The A-Hole who leased the aircraft from Maury in MIA never paid the crew ( us ) and most likely never paid Maury among many other folks in Angola. The aircraft was parked for about a year when it was subsequently repoed or stolen. I dont think the authorities know for sure what happened to this aircraft but I had heard that it was once seen in Beruit with a different paint job. Its a shame because it was a real nice aircraft.
 
350DRIVER said:
I thought this above mentioned 27 was the one that crashed in the middle east a few months ago? Atleast that was the speculation at the time but I didn't think any definitive conclusion had been reached...


3 5 0

Ditto...there's strong evidence that this is the same plane that crashed in Benin. Belonged to some shady lebanese company called UTA, and seems like the plane was overfilled with lebanese tourists and cargo. Looks like it was too nose-heavy, so it plowed into the sea at the end of the runway and broke apart.

I saw on some other board a few shots of this plane in Opalocka, and it looks identical alright.

http://www.airliners.net/open.file/478565/L/
 
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