Intensive Search Under Way for Airliner Missing for Nearly a Month (Boeing 727 over Angola!)

ABC News ^ | Pierre Thomas | Pierre Thomas

[Int]

what the heck?!

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

Wonder where/what that is going to crash into.

[pbear8]

Ummmmm, this appears to be a big problem. I wonder if this is the next big Al-Qaeda operation.

[ken5050]

Tom Clancy already used this plot.......

[mewzilla]

Our intell people seem to be saying that the repo men got it. Whether or not that's what they're saying in private, who knows?

[Int]

This was really quite a useless ABC article for info. I've had to look through google news to find out: the plane belongs to Air Angola and "reportedly belongs to a group of current and former military officials". The plane took from Luanda, Angola and "U.S. officials say the airliner was last heard requesting clearance to land in the Seychelles, off the east African coast, but it never arrived" VOA adds: "Some U.S. officials suspect the plane was illegally flown off to avoid repossession. Others say it may have been crashed for insurance purposes."

iafrica says: "the plane is known to be an American registered plane and that there were no reports that it had picked up new fuel, suggesting that it had not travelled far"

[OXENinFLA]

Am I wrong or wasn't this plane parked at the airport for over a year?

[OXENinFLA]

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

Original story.

[Constitution Day]

Other, earlier FR threads...

05/28/2003: Plane disappears after take-off (Luanda, Angola)

05/30/2003 :Boeing vanishes from airport in Angola

05/30/2003: Missing Boeing 727 Aircraft - Angola Africa

[JennysCool]

What did David Copperfield know, and when did he know it?

[stimpyone]

how long can you keep one of these things flying without mechanics and parts?

[Int]

Thanks for the links. It seems like I've missed out on this story completely over the last 2 weeks...

[Tunehead54]

Tom Clancy already used this plot.......

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Maybe this is the sequel. Just because OBL's plan was not "original" it certainly was devastating. ;-(

[ken5050]

There was some "wag" on CNBC last night who said the plane was just repossessed..

[Will]

Wouldn't the "insurance claim" angle be fairly easily confirmed either positively or negatively. Paperwork, low security information networks would give it away.

Crash would seem most likely - about 70%.

Followed by a still significantly considerable chance of terrorist activities. You would have to set in motion stringent cautionary preparations/watch activities.

Not mentioned here was the possibility that this plane could fly across the Atlantic undetected to reach the US. It would not have a full load of fuel, but could still inflict a lot of damage...

I pray that evil of this kind is defeated. The Islamists bent towards destruction and terror only shows their devotion to following satan and building their horrible demonic Mohammedan cult...

[Constitution Day]

You're welcome!
I had forgotten about it, actually.

Looks like the government is taking it very seriously, as well they (and we) should.

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

It's a common plane. There are plenty of countries that might risk lending mechanical help.

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

It wouldn't need much fuel left if it was loaded with explosives.

[Tunehead54]

There was some "wag" on CNBC last night who said the plane was just repossessed..

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He wasn't the first. Still, after the intensive investigation, shouldn't we know the lienholder/owner and have checked with him/them? If they had the repo right then there's no criminal issue so they could admit possession. Since that hasn't occurred the plane's status is worrisome.

[ken5050]

Have you seen anything as to who owned and/or operated the plane?