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

ABC News ^ | Pierre Thomas | Pierre Thomas

[Int]

Intensive Search Under Way for Airliner Missing for Nearly a Month

By Pierre Thomas

June 10

— The U.S. government has secretly launched an intensive campaign to find a Boeing 727 passenger jet that mysteriously disappeared in Africa three weeks ago, sources told ABCNEWS.

Intelligence agencies have used satellites to try to locate the plane, the CIA is working its human sources in Africa, and embassies in Africa have been informed of the disappearance and asked to provide any information they may come across, sources said.

The plane's status is discussed every morning in meetings at various intelligence agencies and congressional intelligence committees. A number of government officials told ABCNEWS everyone is frustrated.

"When an aircraft of this size has been missing for so long it does raise some questions as to where it is and what it's being used for," said Chris Yates, editor of the London-based specialist publication Jane's Civil Aviation Security.

The Boeing 727 is 153 feet long and weighs 191,000 pounds.

Many Options

The plane disappeared out of Angola on May 25. But a government official says the Angolans do not know whether it was bound for Burkina Faso, South Africa, Libya or Nigeria. It's also not clear how many people were on board.

Some U.S. officials believe the plane may have been stolen to run drugs or guns. Others suspect it may have been crashed for insurance money.

American officials have so far turned up no evidence the disappearance is related to terrorism, but no one knows for certain, but the plane's disappearance raises some troubling security questions.

"It's extraordinarily troubling that you can literally disappear off the face of the Earth once you are airborne and fly across a continent like Africa," Yates said.

Other issues that officials cite include:

   The lack of security at many African and Third World airports.

   The limited oversight of flights in some African countries. Preliminary research shows some countries don't require flight plans.

   The security of the international aviation market. Could this plane resurface in legitimate aviation without anyone knowing, or change hands on the black market? How secure are we when an airliner can go unaccounted for?

The most worrying possibility is that the plane might be used as a flying missile against a U.S. target in the manner of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

"An aircraft could be either stolen or hijacked overseas, fly to the U.S., on schedule, and it wouldn't be seen on FAA [Federal Aviation Administration] radar, if it didn't want to be seen, until the very last minute," said Richard Clarke, former White House terrorism czar.

The chance of that happening is slim, Clarke said. "The government believes the plane would not have enough fuel to reach the U.S."

But that doesn't rule out an attack on a U.S. embassy or facility overseas in Africa — making U.S. officials no less intent on finding the missing airliner.

[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.......

---

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..

---

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?