Boeing vanishes from airport in Angola

SAPA-AFP via Independent Online (SA) ^ | May 29 2003

[Clive]

A Boeing 727 passenger jet, grounded at Luanda airport a year ago, has disappeared after a mysterious unauthorised take-off, Angola state radio reported on Wednesday.

The plane, chartered by the Angolan airline Airangol, was grounded after being banned from overflying Angolan territory because of a series of irregularities, said Angola civil aviation director Helder Preza.

A witness to the plane's departure on Sunday, airport employee Luis Lopes, said he saw a man start the empty plane and then take off after a few dangerous land manoeuvres. - Sapa-AFP

[Clive]

Now you see what happens when you leave the key in the ignition.

[Clive]

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[Born to Conserve]

Sounds like the owners stole it back from the Angolan thieves.

[Wonder Warthog]

"Sounds like the owners stole it back from the Angolan thieves."

HAHAHA! Great minds, and all that. My immediate thought was "Ah, the repo man has made a visit".

[OXENinFLA]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/919034/posts

Previous post.

[Lockbar]

Maybe it is being taken by its real owners, but my first thought is might this plane be eventually filled with explosives and flown into another building somewhere in the world. :-(

[libertylover]

Advice to Israel: Put your air defences on high alert.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

You don't just get in a 727 and take off. You need pre-flight checks and ground crew support pluss fresh fuel. Something smells fishey about this.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Bump!

[Travis McGee]

Wild Geese.

[TEXASPROUD]

REPO MAN strikes again. I wonder if he was from GMAC.

[TEXASPROUD]

"HONK!"

[ZOOKER]

You don't just get in a 727 and take off. You need pre-flight checks and ground crew support plus fresh fuel.

Seems to me the 727 was originally designed for short runways and unimproved airports. It had an auxiliary power unit to start the engines without ground support, if need be. So, assuming it had fuel, I guess you could steal it all by yourself.

[Poohbah]

True story:

The Army Air Corps had a B-24 Liberator disappear from what is now Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (which was the local USAAC base during WW2).

Everyone went into high panic.

What happened:

A guy from the Xth Heavy Bombardment Squadron went down the flightline, counting airplanes on the Xth's parking area.

A guy from the Nth Heavy Bombardment Squadron went down the flightline, counting airplanes on the Nth's parking area.

The missing plane was parked BETWEEN the two areas, and belonged to the Nth squadron, but the guy counting the Nth's airplanes ASSUMED that it belonged to the Xth squadron.

[PLMerite]

I dunno. After a year I would think it'd need at least an oil change. Can one person actually even fly a 727 alone?

Sounds like there might have been some bribery of airport personnel.