The 727 that Vanished: N844AA

[Ian Corrigible]

No conclusive answers, but the Smithsonian's Air & Space magazine has a good back story on the 727 that went missing from Luanda in May 2003 (previous threads here (http://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/91406-727-stolen-angola.html), here (http://www.pprune.org/african-aviation/91494-stolen-africa-b727.html), here (http://www.pprune.org/african-aviation/60515-looking-n844aa.html) and here (http://www.pprune.org/african-aviation/95441-flying-bomb-scare-stolen-plane-found.html)).

Air & Space: The 727 that Vanished (http://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/The-727-that-Vanished.html)

I/C

[172driver]

Great story, thanks for posting the link.

However, could this have a totally benign explanation? Two engineers doing taxi tests, getting to fast and - voila! - the bird flies. Panic sets in, the PPL tries - and fails - to fly her. Crashes into ocean.

The first part (high-speed taxi tests with inadvertent t/o) has happened in the past.

We will probably never know......

[Soap Box Cowboy]

I remeber seeing a 727 in American colours in Dar Es Salaam after the one in Angola went mising. Wondered if that was the one everyone was looking for. Most likely one of the other decomisioned 727's on a ferry flight, wish I'd checked the reg though.

[FunkyStick]

<<<Jean Mutantu was the FE on the flight out of Luanda he now resides in the prison in Abuja for what I have never been able to find out. He knows the whereabouts of the aircraft for sure. I thought it was the 727 that crashed on takeoff somewhere on the west coast killing a lot of Lebanese PAX I was told by Mutantu's wife he was the FE on that flight too.>>>

I am the guy who wrote the story for Air & Space. I made a lot of calls overseas and talked to a lot of people who were involved in this story.

I was told several times that John Mikel Mutantu was a kid from the Congo who hung out at the airport in Luanda getting whatever work he could. He was not a pilot and he was not an FE. To my knowledge, he has not been seen or heard of since. He most certainly was not FE on the crash in Guinea that killed so many from Lebanon. That aircraft was a sister to N844AA and nothing more. The accident report on that crash is available on the internet and if you fly transport aircraft, the CVR transcript makes for sobering and disturbing reading.

Unfortunately, there was much more to this story than I was able to put into the article. There are still a lot of unanswered questions and people who get very nervous talking about it.

172Driver puts forth a very simple logical theory. However, if you look closely into the events that night, it falls apart. That is problem with every theory that I heard. None of them made sense with the facts at hand.

The most likely theory, in my mnd, is that the aircraft crashed somewhere at sea. But where? And what about the fuel sheen that it would have left? That should have been visible for days. But unfortunately, it was days before ANYBODY starting seriously looking for the aircraft.

This project went beyond "a story." For me, it became a compulsion.

cheers,
tim wright

[Soap Box Cowboy]

You talk about fuel on the surface of the ocean, even if they had been informed that night who would have gone looking for them?

I've been involved on a few search and rescues out here in Africa, on all occasions it was other companies that put forth their own assets to look for the downed planes.

We never found anyone, though on one occasion the pilot and his passengers survived the ditching and were recovered 23 hours later by local fisherman. On seeing him at the airport I asked him about it all. He told me he'd seen the planes overhead searching for him. One by one they left. Then one turned towards him the final aircraft, he thought he'd been spotted, but it flew overhead and kept going. I asked him the reg number and he told me. Turns out it was mine :O Never saw him since he was right below us and we'd spent the last few hours overhead doing grid patern search over a ver small area with two other planes.

Plane goes down round here you might not even find anything. If it crashed in the bush it would be stripped within three days. A 737 went down a few miles from the runway, how long did it take to find them?

As for whoever flew out disapearing, it's all risk versus reward. How much was a junk 727 worth and was it worth enough to ditch your family in the states? I doubt it.

From what I hear Angola is pretty tightly controled, rumours of the aircraft almost hitting a fighter went around and it would not suprise me to learn Angolan military engaged an aircraft in their airspace, just ask the poor guys from Botswana, they got a intercepted and engaged even though it was a goverment flight on an official flight plan, fortunatly they all made it with a few injuries.

Just out of curiosity, anyone check if the reg had been repainted before the mysterious departure, if any onboard had any nice big insurance payouts if they disapeared.

I'm still trying to find out what happened to a South African Seneca that left Dar enroute to SA. Aircraft disapeared, no wreckage, all overland.

People say Africa is empty, once you been here a while you realise there is always someone out there. If she came down on land there would be clues, just got to find the right place to look.

As for the inadvertant flight. He taxied onto the runway without clearance or any communication. Manuvering on ground seemed eratic. If he had decided after all that to run the engines and he was charging down the runway and not being able to fly, why not just cut the power, or worse case shut the whole damn thing off and crab his ass and hope for the best rather than get airborne?

[FunkyStick]

<<even if they had been informed that night who would have gone looking for them?>>

Soapbox Cowboy makes some very good points. The lack of SAR was repeatedly driven home to me.

In talking to the US State Department, if you go missing overseas, there is little to nothing the US government can do to look for you. Our embassies don't have the staff to mount large scale or intensive searches. They rely on the host government to do any searching...and Angola basically had little or no SAR resources nor did they seem to have much interest in the case.
And there was the problem that no one had any idea where to even begin looking.

[four engine jock]

The aircraft from what I heard is sitting in FZAA.

[B200Drvr]

There is a former AA 727 sitting on "U" ramp in Cairo. Has been there for a few years. Reg is no longer N, and former reg can't be seen.

[draglift]

Incidentally is the 727 that was impounded in Harare during the attempted Equatorial Guinea coup still there? Or has that flown the coop?

[MrBernoulli]

It was still there in September 2007, when I was last in Harare, but that was, obviously, a while ago. Was parked on the military side of the airport.

[JanetFlight]

Could this Luanda's 727 have anything related with the one that crashed last year in Mali/Niger Desert after crossing all the Ocean on a secret Drug's Ride:confused:

[FunkyStick]

Janet flight,

I wondered about that too so I contacted the DEA and asked. Despite repeated checking by my contact, the final word was that nobody knew or they weren't saying....which my contac found to be very strange.

If you've looked into this incident its not a big stretch to understand the official silence.

[Evanelpus]

The most likely theory, in my mnd, is that the aircraft crashed somewhere at sea. But where? And what about the fuel sheen that it would have left? That should have been visible for days. But unfortunately, it was days before ANYBODY starting seriously looking for the aircraft.

Seven years on and we still can't locate the AFR A330 that crashed into the Atlantic and a search was almost instantaneous for this one. You can't hide a 727 these days no matter how hard you try, so to my way of thinking, it did crash (probably at sea).

[wondering]

Plane goes down round here you might not even find anything. If it crashed in the bush it would be stripped within three days. A 737 went down a few miles from the runway, how long did it take to find them?

Reminds me of the scene in 'Lord of War' where an AN-12 is stripped by the locals in no time. :)

[Agaricus bisporus]

Reminds me of the scene in 'Lord of War' where an AN-12 is stripped by the locals in no time.

Curiously, that's the movies. Real life isn't like that. There is little of the structure of an aircraft that is useful to people in the bush, which is why the airframe usually remains more or less intact for years...

[Soap Box Cowboy]

Not much use to people in the bush? Wires, handy for all kinds of things, snares, clothing repair, bags. Sheet metal, pots and pans, spears, arrows, fish hooks, Kerosene, great for starting fires and lamp fuel. Seats, what hut owner wouldn't be the envy of the neighburhood with a few plush chairs in his house. Seat belts, to hold your pants up. Tires, can be used as furniture and cut into durable shoes. Control cables, very strong kind of rope. Any number of toys for the kids can be fashioned from the fiddle little bits. Glass from instrument panels can be used in a similar fashion to a magnifying glass to start fires, and it's water proof. I'm sure there are lot's of other ideas out there :E

I heard of a 707 went of the runway in Kinshasa, cut to pieces by machette and axes and turned into pots and pans and housing accesories.

A CL-44 I believe that is what it was, last flying apparently, that went down in Congo was gone in three days, all that was left were items too large to move by a few men.

Once you've lived here a while you realise very little is thrown away, you just have to look at household waste in cities where there is a great supply of regular goods, all you find is scraps of food, and the bare scraps at that. Africans on the whole I've found to be very good and stretchign the life of things to their bitter end and then someone will turn up and find some final use that no one ever thought of.

Scrap metal is big buisness out here, so big in fact that they want to ban it. Guess some big shot in his mercedes busted his car driving into an open manhole, cover mysteriously disapeared in the night :hmm:

[fesmokie]

Soap Box,

Now that's more believable. Everthing you said is true. I spent a couple years living and flying in Africa and have seen aircraft parts in the weidest places. Not attached to airplanes! Even when flying contract to Kenya Airways back in 1991 with a DC-8 we couldn't stop the flight attendants from stealing all the flashlights and anything else that wasn't bolted down.

[Shrike200]

Thread drift, but I remember wandering amongst Angolan Mig 21's that had been subjected to a hatchet job - you could see into the fuel tanks on one. It was an unforgettable experience to see a life size cross section of a Russian cold war fighter (some really, really solid parts there!) The same experience for the many other wrecks around there, Mi24's, BMP's, etc, although the military stuff stays intact for a while, being made of sterner stuff. I had to gamble with the landmine issue to see some of the stuff but I kept my limbs, yay :)

Africa does swallow things whole though. A plane is actually relatively small.

[Agaricus bisporus]

Cowboy, please read my post properly! I said "structure" and "usually". Wires and seats aren't structure, and as Shrike confirmed the "structure" tends to remain largely intact. Sheet metal with rows of rivet holes every 4 inches isn't much use for pots and pans and heavy cutting gear is seldom available deep in the bush...as many wrecks in Africa attest to.

[Cardinal Puff]

They get melted down for pots and pans so the rivet holes don't matter. Plenty of ally cookware all over Africa. Rumbek has what's left of a 748 just up the road from the airstrip. The entire aircraft has been cut up except for the heavy centre bulkhead around which the fuselage is built, and to which the main spars are attached. It's all that's left and that was a couple of years ago. Probably also gone now.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d132/Lardbeast/SP91.jpg

[JanetFlight]

That 748 reminds me of a LET..;)

[Cardinal Puff]

Or you could try looking at what remains of a 748 behind it.

Pots and pans....

[artieboy]

arthur here now...scrolling through to see for myself...will e-mail my experience 2 you...and no...i don't know the two names mentioned

[AVIACR3W]

Tim, I am glad to see this story coming to the surface again. I have been involved in many Africa ferry operations and have checked out a number of 727 serial numbers on the continent in an effort to locate 844. I personally believe that most of the evidence...or lack thereof, points to the likelihood of a crash into the ocean. Otherwise the airplane or some of it's parts would have likely surfaced by now. I have a personal and professional curiosity to know what happened. These convoluted deals and shady operations are more common than people realize...luckily for most of us it does not end so tragically.

I also do not find it strange that the US or any government would do much to investigate this. The drug angle is also a dead end as it does not fit the profile or time period of those operations. I was in email contact with Ben's brother several years ago and I know that family is definitely in need of some answers and closure. I hope that you are able to investigate more leads and find more media venues to tell this story. For what it's worth, my company is willing to pay a reward of $10,000 usd to anyone that can prove if Ben Padilla is dead or alive. Hopefully you have stirred up some renewed interest that will provide some new answers. -Bob Allen

[Skystar320]

Cardinal, that picture you took is of a Let 410, no where near a 748!

[Cardinal Puff]

I say again...

Or you could try looking at what remains of a 748 behind it.

Pots and pans....

:rolleyes:

[Flightsimman]

Is this it ??

:eek:

http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/2423/dsc1050v.th.jpg (http://img690.imageshack.us/i/dsc1050v.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

[FunkyStick]

I dont think is N844AA. If she wore the IRS colors, she got them after she was stolen. It's doubtful that IRS would have taken 44AA and put it into passenger service because the interior was totally gutted of insulation and covering panels. To get her back into passenger flying condition would have been a lot of work.

That said, I can contact someone who is very familiar with IRS airlines and ask about this aircraft.

Can you say where it is and when the photo was taken?

[four engine jock]

South Africa. FALA, Lanseria

[FunkyStick]

<<South Africa. FALA, Lanseria>>

Interesting coincidence. Lanseria and IRS both figure into the story.

Lanseria is where N844AA was supposed to be going. The airplane in the image was most likely part of a group of airplanes purchased together. If its sitting in Lanseria, then we can pretty confidently rule it out as being 44AA. The South African intelligence folks were very involved in the search and I doubt that aircraft escaped scrutiny unless its arrival there is fairly recent.

[wabulabantu]

I wonder this forum sometimes.. do a little checking around.

The 748 was scrapped by the pot makers of Rumbek very quickly, but here is the photo of it.

File:Sudan Rumbek aircraft beside airstrip 2004.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sudan_Rumbek_aircraft_beside_airstrip_2004.jpg)

The only reason the LET was not scrapped was because the Canadian (can't remember his name) LET operator from Arusha that had planes based in Akot for NPA paid for it for spares and the guy in the hut next to it protected it. Earlier this year the road from the airport was widened and a JCB throughly mangled it and pushed it to the side.

[Parrot]

That pic is of 5N-RIR at Lanseria. It has been there for ages. In August it was cut up and sent North apparently to be used as a fire training rig

[Cardinal Puff]

Wabulabantu, spot on!:ok:

All that was left of the 748 was the central bulkhead where the wings attach to the fuselage and even that has probably been turned into designer Sudanese cookware by now. With the let getting mangled in that manner, I doubt much remains either.

The point is that any wreck left unattended anywhere near large numbers of people in Africa will get stripped down to the basics pretty sharpish.

[FunkyStick]

I've been told that this aircraft was delivered in March/April of 2002 and was known in the US as N860AA. It was registered as 5N-RIR. Information with it indicates it was IRS airlines first 727-223. The information comes from the man who delivered the aircraft.

[Shell Management]

I see the 748.

[fesmokie]

When 844AA first arrived in Luanda from the USA it was grounded by the local Fed's because it didn't have an HF radio. An HF radio taken from a Cessna 206 (or close to it) including the long coaxial antenna was installed on 844AA. It may be possible to identify the aircraft by inspecting the belly and identifying the holes drilled aft of the EEC door along the center line of the belly where the antenna from the 206 was installed. The first hole would be roughly 3/8 diameter directly aft and close to the EEC access door and then approximately 8 more 1/8" holes drilled approx. 4' apart running aft along the belly. Attached to these holes were brackets that the antenna was attached to. So it is possible that on inspection from an experienced 727 mechanic or flight crew member and if these holes were not filled in,they may be able to identify these non conforming holes in the belly thus confirming that the aircraft is 844AA. By the way, after this bizarre installation of the HF antenna designed for a Cessna was installed on 844AA, the local Fed's signed it off.:ugh::eek:

[172driver]

unless its arrival there is fairly recent.

Funky, according to the info embedded in the image is was taken in Aug 2008.

[FunkyStick]

<<Funky, according to the info embedded in the image is was taken in Aug 2008.>>

172, I dont see the date as being an issue but that was a good catch on your part. I should have noticed that.

I've shown this photo to the man who owned N844AA. He's sure that the two are not the same. In fact, he says delivered the aircraft in the photo to IRS and he sent me a photo of the aircraft as it was being delivered.

FYI, Fesmokie was part of the crew of N844AA and he was involved in the radio installation.

[fesmokie]

FunkyDick

Yes I was involved in the install however, after it was approved by the authorities in Luanda, it was removed because we were well aware of the fact it was non-conforming, illegal and so on. It was the biggest laugh we had the whole time we were there. We had another option and that was to install an HF that was purchased by Mr Irwin and we found out after the fact that it was from a Angolan military aircraft. It was quickly returned as far as I know.:ok:

[fesmokie]

FunkyStick

My sincere apologies for the Typo.:ugh:

[DownIn3Green]

Funky and FES...Funky you know me, and you are aware of the Luanda goings-on...How can something be "illegal" or against the "rules" in Angola?

Did they run out of "Benjamins" or what???

[fesmokie]

DownIn3Green,

Good point however it was still had an N number attached to it, otherwise the"Benjamins" would have worked just fine. The main reason the antenna was removed was for fear that at high speeds it would have broke loose and been ingested by an engine.

[FunkyStick]

<<My sincere apologies for the Typo>>

......I'll probably cry myself to sleep tonight, Mr. Fesmokie.

Actually, there are probably plenty of people who would attest your "typo" is more accurate to reality. So, no worries.

And to DownIn3, I was told by another crewman that if they had known that "Benjamins" would have fixed that problem, they would have used them. The gentleman telling me this story was new to Luanda and was unaware of local customs and the flexibility of authority.

[Shell Management]

The funny bit is how the family think the Military Industrial Compex actually has any intelligence to release on this missing aircraft.

Having failed to predict 911, failed by predicting WMDs in Iraq, failed to predict the insurgency in Iraq etc what chance they know where one airliner is in Africa?

[FunkyStick]

<<The funny bit is how the family think the Military Industrial Compex actually has any intelligence to release on this missing aircraft.

Having failed to predict 911, failed by predicting WMDs in Iraq, failed to predict the insurgency in Iraq etc what chance they know where one airliner is in Africa?>>

It's difficult to express the depth of the passion that the family feels regarding Ben's disappearance. They truly feel convinced that the government knows more than they are saying...which I think is a given. Ben's sister was more than surprised when I told her that the FBI had closed the case five years before. No one at the FBI told them and to the family it is further proof that the government just doesn't care. They have been frustrated since the beginning and feel like they've been lied to all along. To them, the government has been no help at all.

That said, they have little to no understanding as to just how large Africa is; nor do they appreciate how limited radar coverage is in Africa,; nor do they realize that fact that our military/govt/spies are not as omnipotent as Hollywood makes them out to be. They aren't aviators and know little about the world of aviation.

In short, give them a break. They deserve it. They're fighting a battle they don't understand and they have no weapons to fight with.

[DownIn3Green]

Well said, Funky...

[fesmokie]

Shortly after arriving in Luanda, we were installing the HF and doing other maintenance on the aircraft and,each and every time we had to cross the ramp to get to the airplane we were never allowed to just walk. We were required to produce ID and Pay to have a Rampy drive us to the A/C.I beleive the cost of each trip to the airplane was around $20 US. The same to return to the terminal, we had to wait for a ride. This sometimes took as long as an hour or more just to get to the airplane after arriving at the terminal. My point is this... If Padilla had gotten to the airplane to steal it someone at the airport had to check ID,drive him to the aircraft, etc. etc. This process also included several airport personal, not just one person. I would think a $20,000.00 reward could find one of these persons who allowed or took Ben Padilla to the aircraft that day if indeed it was him.

[V1 Rotate]

Anyone know where Irwin is today??
I would love to get my hands on him....and my money!

[fesmokie]

Hey V1, your not the only one Keith owes money. He gave his contact info on "where are they now" Fly Africa/Africa Aviation. I posted the info below. Good Luck.

Re: Keith Barry Irwin

you can contact me on [email protected]

[CW5301]

Lots of good discussion here...

Does anyone have good ideas about how much fuel 844AA had onboard when it departed?

[flaphandlemover]

Any update on the B727 N844AA that went missing off the ramp in Luanda 10 years ago?
Can it be that no one of us has ever seen it around somewhere for 10 years?

[FunkyStick]

<<Any update on the B727 N844AA that went missing off the ramp in Luanda 10 years ago?
Can it be that no one of us has ever seen it around somewhere for 10 years?>>


Great question Flap Mover. As far as I know, its still an unsolved mystery. There have been a couple of reports of sightings but no proof.

[keitaidenwa]

Applying occam's razor, it seems most likely that N844AA crashed to ocean or deep jungle. Any other explanation (dissassembling to parts, drug running, ...) and people would have seen it. And since this 727 became famous, at least one person seen would spilled the beans during the last 10 years.

But that would only be the "what happened" part. There is no convincing simple theory for "why it took of".

[Agaricus bisporus]

Any update on the B727 N844AA that went missing off the ramp in Luanda 10 years ago?
Can it be that no one of us has ever seen it around somewhere for 10 years?

Well, what about this? It's notable by being specific, reasonably detailed and (unless I've missed it) has not been mentioned here so far which seems surprising.

Plane in terrorism scare turns up sporting a respray | World news | The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/jul/07/jamesastill)

[CatchThePigeon]

It's a fascinating story, so I went as far as to read some of the other threads mentioned in the first post in this one. It seems that was another aircraft with a similar registration, if I'm reading this right:

http://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/91406-727-stolen-angola-5.html

[Melax]

The story about the Guinea sighting was simply unfounded. The fact is that plane was never seen again. Possible crash in the ocean ?

[The Ancient Geek]

The ocean theory is the most likely, a 727 flown by a FE with a PPL does not have the best hope of survival.

[FunkyStick]

The ocean crash is a good theory. However, there are a few holes in it. For one, unless the aircraft made a perfect open ocean landing in the dark there should have been some debris somewhere wash up. None has been found. Also, with 14,000 gallons of fuel on board, if the aircraft broke up, there should have been a sizable fuel spill and none was spotted. An enormous effort was launched by multiple governments to learn what happened to the aircraft. If there had been a large fuel spill, logically one would expect to see some evidence of it. Granted, the search began three days after the aircraft vanished when the owner was able to get the US govt to sit up and take notice. But the US govt was not the only govt looking for the aircraft.

Scrapping the aircraft for parts is another definite possibility. Given N844AA's sudden celebrity status, getting rid of it makes a lot of sense. But none of those parts ever showed up anywhere and people were watching for them. Plus, there are credible reports the aircraft was spotted years later by an airline captain and his first officer. These gentlemen had the opportunity to study the aircraft at length and both say the tail number, although the paint was removed, could still be read because of differential corrosion.

[JanetFlight]

Plus, there are credible reports the aircraft was spotted years later by an airline captain and his first officer. These gentlemen had the opportunity to study the aircraft at length and both say the tail number, although the paint was removed, could still be read because of differential corrosion.

When and where, if i may kindly ask?

[FunkyStick]

<<When and where, if i may kindly ask?>>

At this point JanetFlight, all I'd like to say is that the event took place in Africa.

[suninmyeyes]

It is not the first time a 727 has disappeared without trace. This one had a fully qualified crew and was a planned ditching in the atlantic in 1990 due to being low on fuel. It has never been found.

ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 727-247 OB-1303 Newfoundland, Canada (http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19900911-0)

[FunkyStick]

<<It is not the first time a 727 has disappeared without trace. This one had a fully qualified crew and was a planned ditching in the atlantic in 1990 due to being low on fuel. It has never been found.>>

Very true. What is also strange about this flight is that, not only did the crew have their families on board, there was never a crash investigation or a real concerted effort to find them. There was some debris found but it wasn't certain that it came from the aircraft. Also, as I recall, there was no water survival gear on board.

The plane went down outside Canadian waters and the aircraft position wasn't well known. Since it was outside Canadian waters, the Canadian government did not feel it was up to it to investigate what happened. And because the aircraft was registered in Peru, I'm told it was too expensive and too far from home for them to investigate. Nor did the US investigate. So this is a unique case where, to my knowledge, a large aircraft was lost and there was no serious investigation to learn what happened.

If anybody knows differently, I'd like to know.

[scarebus03]

The whole thing smacks to me as insurance fraud. Even if parts from a '75 built 727 did show up in todays world I doubt very much it would raise alarm bells.

Cheers

[Agaricus bisporus]

Janet, the answer is just five posts above yours in the link I included...

Its a bit optimistic I think to assume that wreckage "would" be found from a ditching off Africa. Even if some did wash ashore somewhere the shoreline is so vast it might well never be spotted, let alone recognised. Even less likely reported. There is not necessarily any wreckage at all if the ditching was reasonably controlled, nor much in the way of fuel leakage. There is noting to say it gets washed ashore in Africa if the currents take it in another direction. If it crashed the 727 is all metal and readily identifiable bits don't float like some modern plastic structure. Fuel will disperse and evaporate considerably in 3 days, and anyone naiive enough to imagine you can search the humungous area within the range of that aircraft travelling on an unknown track is simply deluding themselves. It isn't the English Channel!

[747Engineer]

On May 25, 2003 a ex American Airlines 727 was stolen from Luanda, Angola:
Boeing 727-223
Registraion: ???
S/N: 20985
Vanished on 25 May 2003 in Luanda, Angola
History: N844AA

According to an article at History of Flight, Aviation, Space Exploration | AirSpaceMag.com (http://www.airspacemag.com) the 727 should have been ferried to South Africa on May 26, 2003.

On May 25, 2003 shortly before sunset, the 727 started to taxi, making some erratic movemens and finally took of

with no lights and the ATC transponder switched off. Witnesses reported that the aircraft flew a south west heading shortly after takeoff. That was the last time N844AA had been seen.
Some reports claim that the airplane had been shot down by the Angolian Air Force, or that it crashed into the ocean. Other sources claims that the airplane vanished near Kinshasa or that it has been seen in a hanger Bujumbura.
Could it be possible that the airplane technican who dissapeared together with the 727 tried to flew the airplane to South Africa?

Around June 2003 a 727 registrated 3X-GOM had been seen by Mr. Strother in Conakry. He reported that parts of the former US registration where visible. In fact he said that the last two letters (AA) where visible. But there are a lot of former American Airline 727 in Africa:

727 operated by UTA (Union des Transports Africains)
Boeing 727-223
Registration: 3X-GDO
S/N: 21370
Crashed on 25 December 2003 in Cotonou, Benin.
History: N865AA, YA-FAK, 3D-FAK, 3X-GDO

Boeing 727-223
Registration: 3X-GDM
S/N: 21089
Unknowen status.
History: N862AA, 3X-GDM, 3D-AAK

It turned out that the 727 he saw was not the missing 727.

Boeing 727 wreck in Mali Desert:
Thre are some pictures on the internet showing a buned out 727 wreck in the desert of Mali. According to press releases it has been used to carry drugs from South America to Africa. Well, it is possible to fly with a 727 from South America to Africa with a few stops for refueling. Cotonou airport could be used as a refueling stop for example.
What is intresting about this wreck is the fact that it is heavily destroyed and shows signs of an impact. For example the section 41 is ripped of the fuselage, the landing gear lies next to the fuselage and so on.

According to press releases the airplane was set on fire after the cargo has been unloaded, but it looks like that the airplane had crashed either during landing or during the following takeoff.
Nothing is knowen about the serial number or the current registration of this 727.
Is it possible that this airplane wreck was N844AA?

Now two questions:
- what is knowen about the 727 in the desert of Mali?
- could the 727 in the desert of Mali be the missing N844AA?

[steamchicken]

s/n 21619 wasn't it? mystery jet update: Malian 727 | The Yorkshire Ranter (http://www.harrowell.org.uk/blog/2009/12/23/mystery-jet-update-malian-727/)

[FunkyStick]

<<- could the 727 in the desert of Mali be the missing N844AA?>>

That was my first guess. But it's not. This aircraft's history has been pretty well identified.

[Mork1]

The whole thing smacks to me as insurance fraud.

Tim - was it clear from your reporting that Maury Jospeh actually received an insurance payout? It seemed he must have, if General Robeson thought it was a viable theory. But the interaction between Joesph and his insurers must have been interesting.

[Agaricus bisporus]

The "Yorkshire Ranter"?

An authoritative source on aviation matters, I take it?

[FunkyStick]

Maury and his son both say no insurance money was ever paid. Maury told me that he was caught in a Catch-22: in order to file a claim he had to prove the airplane was stolen and without the airplane, he couldn't prove that it was.

[atakacs]

Regarding the Mali 727 do you have a pointer towards its well established history ? Thanks

[FunkyStick]

<<http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rhinocg/rhino-rig-for-dslr-and-cinema-cameras>>

The airplane is J5-GCU. If you Google that with Mali you'll have almost everything I have.

Also, I think the Yorkshire Ranter has a pretty good summation.

[Mork1]

Tim - thanks for the update re the Josephs. So, if they were insurance fraudsters, they weren't very competent ones!

[Jo Vinyard]

Tim,
You mentioned in your article that you requested FBI records as part of FOIA. Did they ever reply?
Do you know if there was any report from DNIC (Direccao Nacional de Investigacao Criminal)?

[FunkyStick]

<<Tim,
You mentioned in your article that you requested FBI records as part of FOIA. Did they ever reply? >>
...yes, they did but it was years after I filed the request. I got thousands of pages, many heavily redacted.

<<Do you know if there was any report from DNIC (Direccao Nacional de Investigacao Criminal?>>
...I heard a report was written but I never found a copy of it. When I contacted the Angolan CAA, the man who "knew everything" hung up on me as soon as I told him I was looking into the aircraft.

[Jo Vinyard]

Thanks for reply! I wasn't sure you would still monitored thread.
Did FBI report help to solve some of the mysteries?

[FunkyStick]

Jo, sorry for the late reply. Didn't know it was here.

The FBI documents were interesting but about the only thing they revealed is that the FBI didn't know aviation and that there was a turf battle between them and the State Dept. They looked for the airplane with enthusiasm only for a few months. Then the search pretty much faded out. Based on what I have read, I found a few things they missed.

[FunkyStick]

Air & Space magazine has just published a followup to the theft of N844AA. The new story looks at how large aircraft have been able to disappear without drawing headlines. It also discusses a new Air Force intelligence agency that focuses on civilian aviation all over the world.

History, Travel, Arts, Science, People, Places | Air & Space Magazine (http://www.airspacemag.com/flight-today/when-airliners-vanish-180952793/?all)