ATA in Iraq?

[captain jetbelly]

Has anyone heard of an ATA (American Trans Air) charter aircraft being shot down in or over Iraq? I'm getting bits and pieces but nothing solid.

Thank you.

[captseth]

No info to verify, if anything might be a different carrier. Nothing on media either.

[PaperTiger]

Seems unlikely. Nothing in the media (as stated), or on the FAA or NTSB sites. Even in the current circumstances I would be surprised something like this could be kept secret even if 'they' wanted to.

[skibeagle]

Hey PT, ever been to Iraq ? They haven't even got Starbucks there yet - sure is the wild east.

Keeping this quiet is about as easy as well... stealing a B727 out of Angola, or keeping the blue on blue incidents of the Falklands under wraps for ever, (or at least from mainstream media).

We don't hear a quarter of the crap that goes on, believe me.

[ironbutt57]

no starbucks? how unthinkable!!! watch the Cia News Network for ATA if it happened it'll turn up there...nope not yet too busy seems it's Bhopal day....:ouch:

[av8boy]

ATA is in Iraq these days as a mil (CRAF, etc) charter. The aircraft are 75s and (at least in the recent past) the occ L10. However, I cannot believe that there would be any way to cover up a hull loss. Neither the crews nor the airframes are dedicicated to mid-east duty, and unless such an event happened VERY recently (last few hours or so), I tend to think it didn't happen at all. I've got some very close associations within the company they've heard nothing.

SASKATOON9999... I think the crews would agree that the normal livery is too obvious for comfort...

Dave

[PaperTiger]

av8boy put it more succinctly than I, and while I am sure there are many secret umm... incidents going on in Iraq, the loss of a civil (albeit CRAF) airliner and crew wouldn't be hushed up.

One might even argue that such a disaster would be to the advantage of the administration, PR-spin wise.

[captain jetbelly]

av8Boy. Thank you for the verification that ATA and "other charter operators" are in Iraq.

For others responding: I asked "has anyone heard anything", not "has anyone NOT heard anything"...but thank you non-the-less for allowing me to read your unsolicited responses.

Sorry, rough day.

With respect captain if you ask a question on this forum it is inevitably going to invite responses. The fact they seem unsatisfactory to you cannot reasonably classify them as "unsolicited"

[PaperTiger]

My sincere apologies for being gratuitously verbose in my response. Please allow to me to make amends by answering the original question thusly:

NO