Welcome to the photo dump for Episode 227: The Vanished Boeing 727. In 2003, a massive Boeing 727 vanished without a trace from a heavily guarded airport in Angola, and no one has seen it since. In this episode, we dive into the tangled political history of post-civil war Angola, the shadowy world of arms trafficking and black market aviation, and the strange final moments of the jet before it allegedly took off with two men aboard and disappeared forever. Was it stolen, crashed, sold to a warlord, or something even stranger? Buckle tf up, Haunties, because there’s about to be turbulence as we fly you through one of aviation’s most baffling unsolved mysteries.
IMAGE 01: What happened to the vanished Boeing 727?
IMAGE 02: Map of Africa showing Angola + Map of Angola showing Luanda
IMAGE 03: Few newspapers covered the case of the missing plane
IMAGE 04: 4 De Fevereiro Airport where the plane went missing from
IMAGE 05: Overview of the details
IMAGE 06: The plane was a Boeing 727 once owned by American Airlines
IMAGE 07: Missing poster of Ben Padilla which was distributed to over 26 nations, though no leads ever came of it and the FBI quietly closed the case in 2005 with no leads and no conclusions.
IMAGE 08: Ben Padilla, a mechanic and pilot, is alleged to have been at the controls at the time the plane went missing. He was allegedly accompanied by a man named John Mutantu, though we have no photographs of John. Ben Padilla’s family have been pushing for the FBI to reopen the case, as they believe the only way Ben would’ve moved the plane illegally is under duress (such as being hijacked).
IMAGE 09: Maury Joseph owned a company called Aerospace Sales & Leasing in Miami. He had purchased the 727 from American Airlines and was attempting to lease the plane out to an Angolan airline, but there were disputes.
IMAGE 10: The plane only had enough fuel to travel this radius. Where could it have gone?
