![OnDisasters's tweet photo. 23 years ago: Two men stole a Boeing and were never seen again
May 25 2003: An Aerospace Sales & Leasing cargo B-727 [N844AA] disappears after taking off without permission from Luanda (Angola). Allegedly jet was stolen by 2 men working on it. Despite an extensive search, no trace of the aircraft or its occupants was ever found. More info below ⬇️
Shortly before sunset (approximately 17:00 WAT), Ben C. Padilla, a U.S. pilot and flight engineer, and John M. Mutantu, a French-Congolese mechanic from the Republic of the Congo, are believed to have boarded the Boeing 727. The aircraft was a former American Airlines jet and had been converted to haul fuel ( common practice in the Region, where ground-based transport for fuel is unsafe)
Although the 727 requires a three-person crew and neither man was certified to fly it, U.S. authorities believe Padilla was at the controls. Witness accounts differ: one airport employee reported seeing only one person aboard, while other officials stated that two men had boarded.
The aircraft taxied without communicating with the control tower, maneuvered erratically, and entered the runway without clearance. Air traffic controllers received no response to their attempts to make contact. With no lights illuminated, the aircraft took off, heading southwest over the Atlantic Ocean before disappearing.
The jet had been fueled with 53,000 litres (14,000 US gallons), providing a range of approximately 2,400 kilometres (1,500 miles; 1,300 nautical miles). Neither the aircraft nor the two men have been seen since, and no debris has been found.
As a note, US authorities pointed Padilla´s accounting fraud played a part, believing that the plane's theft was either caused by a business feud or resulted from a scam. As of 2026, no trace of the aircraft was ever found.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HJLUyFJW0AAZwJy.jpg)
![OnDisasters's tweet photo. 23 years ago: Two men stole a Boeing and were never seen again
May 25 2003: An Aerospace Sales & Leasing cargo B-727 [N844AA] disappears after taking off without permission from Luanda (Angola). Allegedly jet was stolen by 2 men working on it. Despite an extensive search, no trace of the aircraft or its occupants was ever found. More info below ⬇️
Shortly before sunset (approximately 17:00 WAT), Ben C. Padilla, a U.S. pilot and flight engineer, and John M. Mutantu, a French-Congolese mechanic from the Republic of the Congo, are believed to have boarded the Boeing 727. The aircraft was a former American Airlines jet and had been converted to haul fuel ( common practice in the Region, where ground-based transport for fuel is unsafe)
Although the 727 requires a three-person crew and neither man was certified to fly it, U.S. authorities believe Padilla was at the controls. Witness accounts differ: one airport employee reported seeing only one person aboard, while other officials stated that two men had boarded.
The aircraft taxied without communicating with the control tower, maneuvered erratically, and entered the runway without clearance. Air traffic controllers received no response to their attempts to make contact. With no lights illuminated, the aircraft took off, heading southwest over the Atlantic Ocean before disappearing.
The jet had been fueled with 53,000 litres (14,000 US gallons), providing a range of approximately 2,400 kilometres (1,500 miles; 1,300 nautical miles). Neither the aircraft nor the two men have been seen since, and no debris has been found.
As a note, US authorities pointed Padilla´s accounting fraud played a part, believing that the plane's theft was either caused by a business feud or resulted from a scam. As of 2026, no trace of the aircraft was ever found.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HJLUyDkWIAAPM1X.jpg)
Olivia
Online
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ふと気がついたフライトレーダー垂れ流すだけ…偶に別なのも。
起きてる時間にSquawk7700の通知があれば多分Tweet。同好の士と思われる方はフォロー。
Japanese and simple English. When I don't understand, I use translation software
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Joined September 2021
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A46074 開始 Istanbul - Mineralnye Vody https://t.co/rk2TJSdfOc
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最近はカーシェアやレンタカーでのドライブにどハマり中。 ドライブ記録・試乗レビューはInstagramにて公開してます↓
よろしくお願いします🙇♂️
TK2610 開始 Istanbul - Diyarbakir https://t.co/9NOTv6Zgvx
23 years ago: Two men stole a Boeing and were never seen again
May 25 2003: An Aerospace Sales & Leasing cargo B-727 [N844AA] disappears after taking off without permission from Luanda (Angola). Allegedly jet was stolen by 2 men working on it. Despite an extensive search, no trace of the aircraft or its occupants was ever found. More info below ⬇️
Shortly before sunset (approximately 17:00 WAT), Ben C. Padilla, a U.S. pilot and flight engineer, and John M. Mutantu, a French-Congolese mechanic from the Republic of the Congo, are believed to have boarded the Boeing 727. The aircraft was a former American Airlines jet and had been converted to haul fuel ( common practice in the Region, where ground-based transport for fuel is unsafe)
Although the 727 requires a three-person crew and neither man was certified to fly it, U.S. authorities believe Padilla was at the controls. Witness accounts differ: one airport employee reported seeing only one person aboard, while other officials stated that two men had boarded.
The aircraft taxied without communicating with the control tower, maneuvered erratically, and entered the runway without clearance. Air traffic controllers received no response to their attempts to make contact. With no lights illuminated, the aircraft took off, heading southwest over the Atlantic Ocean before disappearing.
The jet had been fueled with 53,000 litres (14,000 US gallons), providing a range of approximately 2,400 kilometres (1,500 miles; 1,300 nautical miles). Neither the aircraft nor the two men have been seen since, and no debris has been found.
As a note, US authorities pointed Padilla´s accounting fraud played a part, believing that the plane's theft was either caused by a business feud or resulted from a scam. As of 2026, no trace of the aircraft was ever found.
![OnDisasters's tweet photo. 23 years ago: Two men stole a Boeing and were never seen again
May 25 2003: An Aerospace Sales & Leasing cargo B-727 [N844AA] disappears after taking off without permission from Luanda (Angola). Allegedly jet was stolen by 2 men working on it. Despite an extensive search, no trace of the aircraft or its occupants was ever found. More info below ⬇️
Shortly before sunset (approximately 17:00 WAT), Ben C. Padilla, a U.S. pilot and flight engineer, and John M. Mutantu, a French-Congolese mechanic from the Republic of the Congo, are believed to have boarded the Boeing 727. The aircraft was a former American Airlines jet and had been converted to haul fuel ( common practice in the Region, where ground-based transport for fuel is unsafe)
Although the 727 requires a three-person crew and neither man was certified to fly it, U.S. authorities believe Padilla was at the controls. Witness accounts differ: one airport employee reported seeing only one person aboard, while other officials stated that two men had boarded.
The aircraft taxied without communicating with the control tower, maneuvered erratically, and entered the runway without clearance. Air traffic controllers received no response to their attempts to make contact. With no lights illuminated, the aircraft took off, heading southwest over the Atlantic Ocean before disappearing.
The jet had been fueled with 53,000 litres (14,000 US gallons), providing a range of approximately 2,400 kilometres (1,500 miles; 1,300 nautical miles). Neither the aircraft nor the two men have been seen since, and no debris has been found.
As a note, US authorities pointed Padilla´s accounting fraud played a part, believing that the plane's theft was either caused by a business feud or resulted from a scam. As of 2026, no trace of the aircraft was ever found.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HJLUyG5WMAAb0bU.jpg)
ANA、冷蔵装置故障で787引き返し 12時間弱遅れでフランクフルトに
https://t.co/w68S1PYdrp
Investigadores da NTSB divulgam vídeo completo do acidente com o MD-11F da UPS, mostrando em detalhes o momento que o motor esquerdo se desprende e sai voando da asa durante a decolagem
🚨 WATCH: A Dornier 228-202, 5Y-CES, landed at Nairobi-Wilson Airport yesterday with a partially extended right-had main gear, which collapsed upon touchdown
The "other" Tu-144 crash (everyone recalls the Paris Air Show Crash but this one is erased...)
May 23: 1978: a Tupolev Tu-144 [CCCP-77111], on a pre-delivery test flight crash lands in Yegoryevsk (USSR), 2 of 8 aboard died. Jet developed a fire in the APU which led to engine problems. Conflagration´s start was later traced to a ruptured fuel line. Crew actions were also a factor.
The excerpt here is from a video on the Soviet SuperSonic Transport (SST) and its safety record by the channel "Raven´s Eye"
More info here (via ASN)
"(...) At an altitude of 3000 m a fire started at the APU, located in the right delta-shaped wing. A turn was made to return to the airport and the both engines located in the right wing (engines no. 3 and 4) were shut down.
The plane began to lose height. Fire trailed the plane and the cockpit filled with smoke. Then one of the remaining two engines failed. The crew managed to belly land the plane in a field, six minutes after the beginning of the fire. On impact, the nose cone collapsed under the fuselage, penetrating the compartment in which two flight engineers were seated.
It appeared that 27 minutes before the ignition, a fuel line ruptured, causing eight tons of fuel to leak, entering several compartments of the right wing. The fuel readings were judged incorrect by the flight engineers and were thus not reported to the commander. "
EI680 開始 Dublin - Geneva https://t.co/WYRKFkUyKU
W46525 開始 Catania - Turin https://t.co/BuloDJno96
UA2198 開始 New York - Austin https://t.co/Sj1oJES6bB
BOE128 開始 Everett - Everett https://t.co/LPGUPvHgnj
HV5054 開始 Alicante - Rotterdam https://t.co/VEwG5qrPpE
AF111 開始 Shanghai - Paris https://t.co/CDPkNmEYxq
https://t.co/B4GABB8ApP
UA135 開始 Zurich - New York https://t.co/mYCnTAyAtb
Data released by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in response to a freedom of information request, shows that the fuel switches to both engines were shut off simultaneously before China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735 dropped out of the sky and crashed in March 2022.
It was China’s deadliest air disaster in decades, but the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has not addressed the crucial question of what had prompted the deadly nosedive.
The data was taken from the plane’s flight data recorder that record all relevant operational information — which was recovered from the wreckage and sent to the NTSB’s laboratory in Washington DC for analysis (with the agency’s involvement stemming from Boeing being a US aircraft manufacturer).
“It was found that while cruising at 29,000 ft, the fuel switches on both engines moved from the run position to the cutoff position. Engine speeds decreased after the fuel switch movement,” the NTSB report said.
China has not published an update into its investigation since 2024, when the CAAC released a statement on the two-year anniversary of the crash reiterating earlier findings that it found no problems with the aircraft, crew or weather conditions.
CT116 開始 Hong Kong - Turkistan https://t.co/AbN9al5445
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