727 stolen from Angola
The FO on my last trip told me that he went with his late father (began at TWA as a Connie FE) to repossess aircraft (DC-9s, 727s, 707s) from various countries, such as some in Africa and even from mainland China.
I told him about this thread and he knows how easy it is to remove aircraft from Africa, especially with a very experienced mechanic/Flight Engineer and lot of spare parts.
I told him about this thread and he knows how easy it is to remove aircraft from Africa, especially with a very experienced mechanic/Flight Engineer and lot of spare parts.
I've only made a few posts so I don't feel the need to order a Personal Title and help support PPRuNe
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Why? Is there a Christian, Jewish, Hindu or any other Ramadan holiday? 
If you're going to make a statement (assuming you were being rhetorical) then at least let us know what your real xenophobic feelings.
If you're going to make a statement (assuming you were being rhetorical) then at least let us know what your real xenophobic feelings.
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cargo boy,
Come on now. It was just speculation intended on fostering debate. I am not a racist, though I do hate idiots.
It is all over the news that Uncle Osama and the little pickle crew are intending on staging a big event in Suadi during Ramadan.
Come on now. It was just speculation intended on fostering debate. I am not a racist, though I do hate idiots.
It is all over the news that Uncle Osama and the little pickle crew are intending on staging a big event in Suadi during Ramadan.
lunasynchronous orbiter
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A (meandering) apocalyptic speculation
Yes, we'd all like that aircraft to be found.
After the WTC/Pentagon attacks, we have a tendency to think that the bad guys will just try to do something similar again.
But we know Osama bin Creepo is Macchiavellian and always thinks of *new bigger* things, rather than repeating *old smaller* things.
Question: if stolen aircraft with extra fuel flies across the Mediterranean or the Atlantic, by the time it gets to its destination, hasn't it used up a lot of the fuel so it isn't as good a weapon? The point of having a lot of fuel is to do your attack as near the beginning of the flight as possible. So flying to Tel Aviv instead seems more likely - but that may not be a trivial distance either, depending of course on starting point.
But now, what if the fuel *isn't* the weapon, but something else being transported *is* the weapon? Then, flying all the way to England (although I don't really think Creepo is interested in England) or to USA would still be worthwhile.
What if all along we've been thinking mickey mouse small potatoes while Creepo's been thinking big?
What I'm getting at is that it has always troubled me that Pakistan has, gulp,
nukes
and Creepo is currently believed to be in Pakistan.
Obviously USA, England, and others would be watching like hawks for any Pakistan-nuke-Creepo linkup, right? But can we take it for granted? Although the Pakistani leader has supported certain aspects of the US efforts, can we be confident such a linkup is impossible, such as through renegade engineers, etc.? Or "former Soviet" sources and others?
Of course, getting access to a nuke is much harder than getting access to a 727, so if Creepo had accomplished the former then he presumably would have the resources to simply buy a transport aircraft and not have to heist one in Angola.
Anyway the point I'm making is, everyone should be alert to the possibility that the stolen 727, or for that matter any other airliner acquired in any other manner, could be used, either in the near future or the medium or more distant future, to transport a, gulp, nuke to Tel Aviv, London, or New York.
Is everyone attuned to this idea?
Jetliners-as-fuel-bombs post-2001 is now small time stuff.
Creepo doesn't think small, he thinks big.
----
I think the subject matter of this post needs to be a part of the public discussion (if it isn't already - but I haven't seen it anywhere), and is not something "dangerous to post in a public forum". But I'll report this post to the moderators myself to make sure they agree.
After the WTC/Pentagon attacks, we have a tendency to think that the bad guys will just try to do something similar again.
But we know Osama bin Creepo is Macchiavellian and always thinks of *new bigger* things, rather than repeating *old smaller* things.
Question: if stolen aircraft with extra fuel flies across the Mediterranean or the Atlantic, by the time it gets to its destination, hasn't it used up a lot of the fuel so it isn't as good a weapon? The point of having a lot of fuel is to do your attack as near the beginning of the flight as possible. So flying to Tel Aviv instead seems more likely - but that may not be a trivial distance either, depending of course on starting point.
But now, what if the fuel *isn't* the weapon, but something else being transported *is* the weapon? Then, flying all the way to England (although I don't really think Creepo is interested in England) or to USA would still be worthwhile.
What if all along we've been thinking mickey mouse small potatoes while Creepo's been thinking big?
What I'm getting at is that it has always troubled me that Pakistan has, gulp,
nukes
and Creepo is currently believed to be in Pakistan.
Obviously USA, England, and others would be watching like hawks for any Pakistan-nuke-Creepo linkup, right? But can we take it for granted? Although the Pakistani leader has supported certain aspects of the US efforts, can we be confident such a linkup is impossible, such as through renegade engineers, etc.? Or "former Soviet" sources and others?
Of course, getting access to a nuke is much harder than getting access to a 727, so if Creepo had accomplished the former then he presumably would have the resources to simply buy a transport aircraft and not have to heist one in Angola.
Anyway the point I'm making is, everyone should be alert to the possibility that the stolen 727, or for that matter any other airliner acquired in any other manner, could be used, either in the near future or the medium or more distant future, to transport a, gulp, nuke to Tel Aviv, London, or New York.
Is everyone attuned to this idea?
Jetliners-as-fuel-bombs post-2001 is now small time stuff.
Creepo doesn't think small, he thinks big.
----
I think the subject matter of this post needs to be a part of the public discussion (if it isn't already - but I haven't seen it anywhere), and is not something "dangerous to post in a public forum". But I'll report this post to the moderators myself to make sure they agree.
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If the jet that crashed is truly registered 3X-GDM it is not the stolen plane. 3x-GDM was serialized as 21089 from the factory. The stolen 727 was serialized 20985.
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linking the African 727's?
Well, might be stating the bleedin obvious but if a Mr Joseph Padilla was aboard the Merc's 727 nicked in Harare (as reported on that thread) and a Mr Padilla was last seen zipping away in that Angola 727, it might be concluded that the mercs have a 727 fetish. All the bleedin heart emails circulating about the missing Padilla Esq (and purporting to have come from his brother) may just have been disinformation.
I get the impresssion that the mercs aren't very smart or that they got dobbed in - or that the Zimbabwean plods are better than one would assume (or a little each from column A thru C).
Starting to look like a great plot for a film. Suggestions for a title for said film?
"the Bogs of War"
"Now where did I park my Merc?"
"That's the Third Merc I've had Towed Away this week"
"Oh no, my Merc's been Clamped"
Methinks they're all destined to become farm laborers.
I get the impresssion that the mercs aren't very smart or that they got dobbed in - or that the Zimbabwean plods are better than one would assume (or a little each from column A thru C).
Starting to look like a great plot for a film. Suggestions for a title for said film?
"the Bogs of War"
"Now where did I park my Merc?"
"That's the Third Merc I've had Towed Away this week"
"Oh no, my Merc's been Clamped"
Methinks they're all destined to become farm laborers.
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Irwin ?
I don't think anyone suggested that Keith Irwin was involved with the repo job, if thats what it was. I would think that Gabriel would be one of many who are hunting for Irwin to repo his ass.
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727 stolen from Angola
I talked to Joseph Padilla and he says Maury Joseph of Aerospace Leasing admits to hiring Ben Padilla...I wonder what his exact instructions for Padilla were??? Does anyone know Mr Gabriel or Mr John Mikel Mutantu????
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dizzytinperson
I thought that Maury and Mr Gabriel were from the same outfit in Miami. I guess I,m not to sure now who's who anymore. Also. I would be very surprised if Irwin paid Maury in full for the use of this airplane from when he initially took it to Angola in March of 2002.
Also. I would be very surprised if Irwin paid Maury in full for the use of this airplane from when he initially took it to Angola in March of 2002.
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Here's a story on the subject from today's ABCNews.com:
http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/U..._040419-1.html
http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/U..._040419-1.html
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Boeing 727-223/Adv N844AA Disappearance
American Airlines Boeing 727-223/Adv N844AA departed from Luanda Airport (FNLU) in Angola without permission and disappeared. Currently leased to Air Angola from Aerospace Sales & LSG. It was last heard requesting permission to land in the Seychelles however it didn't land after the request and no one seems to know where it is.
The sudden strange disappearance in Angola, of a missing Boeing 727 cargo plane reportedly modified to serve as an air tanker caused panic in US intelligence agencies circles. The aircraft, which vanished without trace from Angola’s main airport on May 25, 2003, reappeared few months ago on June 28, 2003 in Guinean capital Conakry with new paint job sporting a new registration number, before vanishing once again. While the plane has the new tail number, 3XGOM at least the last two letters of its former tail-number, N844AA are still visible.
more...
http://www.flightlinemalta.com/airaccidents/N844AA/
The sudden strange disappearance in Angola, of a missing Boeing 727 cargo plane reportedly modified to serve as an air tanker caused panic in US intelligence agencies circles. The aircraft, which vanished without trace from Angola’s main airport on May 25, 2003, reappeared few months ago on June 28, 2003 in Guinean capital Conakry with new paint job sporting a new registration number, before vanishing once again. While the plane has the new tail number, 3XGOM at least the last two letters of its former tail-number, N844AA are still visible.
more...
http://www.flightlinemalta.com/airaccidents/N844AA/
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One school of opinion is that the 'witness' got the reggie wrong. 3X-GOM has never been registered (or seen by anyone else), 3X-GDM is a different ex-AA 727 (ship 862).
http://727.assintel.com.br/acid/images/3x-gdm_01.jpg
(despite the caption on the above photo, the Benin crash airplane was 3X-GDO).
http://727.assintel.com.br/acid/images/3x-gdm_01.jpg
(despite the caption on the above photo, the Benin crash airplane was 3X-GDO).
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A photo of the mystery aircraft seen in Conakry was published in the Toronto Star on July 11th, 2003. It is not a very clear photo, and it is possible that the aircraft is indeed 3XGDM, the former N862AA. But there appears to be at least one big difference between the aircraft photographed in Conakry and 3XGDM as depicted in the photo mentioned in the previous posting. The former AA titles are clearly evident - painted over with a big white blotch - in the photo of 3XGDM. Photos of N862AA in storage at Mohave also show this blotch. The aircraft photographed in Conakry, on the other hand, appears to have had its AA titles removed entirely (although it is hard to be sure). This is strange, because the Conakry photo was reportedly taken on June 28th, 2003 - on or about the day N862AA was delivered to Guinea - which would seem to make it unlikely that the 3XGDM photo was taken first.
The aircraft that went mssing in Angola looked almost exactly like N862AA, but its AA titles had been removed, not painted over, so in this respect at least the photo seems to support the witness' claim that he saw N844AA.
The aircraft that went mssing in Angola looked almost exactly like N862AA, but its AA titles had been removed, not painted over, so in this respect at least the photo seems to support the witness' claim that he saw N844AA.