Mystery 727
 

Hi there,

I'm a reporter working on an aviation-related story. I'm trying to determine if a Boeing 727-31 recorded flying over Florida in 2009 was indeed that plane. I've heard control towers sometimes make typos when noting a plane's tail number, leading to mistaken identity.

I'd so appreciate it if you could take a look at the plane's track log on Flightaware, and lend your opinion on whether it's possible this is a 727. It was flying low and slow, but I'm not sure about the reliability of the groundspeed and altitude readings in the track log data.

The circumstances of this flight are murky. The plane filed a visual flight plan mid-flight. It said it was landing at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport -- but apparently never ended up landing there. The track log covers only a snippet of flying time. There's no word on where the plane took off from, or where it ultimately landed.

N220NE ? FlightAware

While the registration equates to a B-727, FlightAware shows the type of aircraft as an experimental.

N220NE is stored at Porlamar-Santiago Mariño Int´l - SVMG since at least 2006. Never left

Thanks for the reply. How are you sure the plane has been stored since 2006? I see an entry on planelogger.com that says it's been stored since February 2009 - so, one month after the possible flight over Florida.

https://www.planelogger.com/Aircraft/Registration/N220NE/495524

Any verifiable information you can provide would be much appreciated.

This puzzled me. I spoke with several knowledgeable people who said the plane could have been reported as experimental because it had switched out a part since its last air worthiness certification with the FAA. That would seem to jibe with the FAA's guide on the "experimental category."

https://www.faa.gov/aircraft/air_cert/airworthiness_certification/sp_awcert/experiment/

Any thoughts?

It was an extraordinary rendition. And you're next...