In Angola, A Jetliner's Vanishing Act

I appreciate what you are saying but the simple fact is… it’s a lot simpler than you would think.

To answer your questions…

One may have already been secured and has now vanished off the face of the planet.

Securing fuel is as simple as picking up the phone or landing at an airport with fuel services and buying the stuff. No special forms or ID is needed. The linemen usually don’t care who you are as long as your credit card is good and it’s not uncommon for cargo operators to land and buy fuel where the crew knows they can get it cheap at, which may or may not be the jets final destination.

So in short on the fuel issue you don’t have to steal it just buy it at such places like Nassau in the Bahamas or Trinidad both have large bizjets and old cargo birds in their quite a bit. Just pay cash for it, not unusual at all… heck we even have a small safe on out jet just for the purpose of carrying large sums of cash. Just last month I crewed a trip down to Chile and we had over $15,000 USD in cash aboard for the purpose of buying fuel at out destination because we knew ahead of time the Field FBO did not take credit cards.

To “inject a bona-fide flight plan into the system from a 'trusted' source or channel”…

All that requires is a simple phone call to the US FSS and talking with a briefer who will dutifully take your flight plan over the phone no questions asked, no special passwords needed or any secret hand shake… ever pilot from the lowest of student pilots to the mightiest of airline drivers knows this and does it on a regular basis. The FP is files instantly via computer and can be activated in about 30 minutes of your phone call and there is not now and never has been any type of call back system.

You do give the briefer the name of the Pilot in Command and a phone number where someone responsible for the flight can be reached. But if the pilot is indeed a licensed pilot which to fly a 727 he would surly have to be, he could just use his real name, assuming it’s not Osama bin Laden.

And I use my cell phone number when I file for private flights and a company 800 number when I file at work.

Transponder codes are no big secret at all, in fact if you buy yourself a air band scanner you an here them being read back to pilots on open frequencies all the time, and if you need what is called a clearance void time because you are departing from an uncontrolled air field when you file your FP with FSS the briefer will give you one right over the phone.

IFF codes are indeed unique to a specific aircraft, no two planes will have the same IFF code inside the US National Airspace System at the same time, but when only planes lands his code can be recycled within 60 minutes and given to a different plane.

Everyone on the flight deck knows the squawk code it’s not known only to the Captain, hell even the flight attendants can see if they know here to look and again it’s usually give to the flight crew on an open frequency over the radio.

Hope this clears a few things up

TMMT

I was thinking Debt of Honor myself, these Islamokazis semms to have a taste for Clancy novels..

What about stealing a transponder, someone theorized they might try that earlier on the thread..

Transponder codes are ...

I take it you are not up-to-speed on the procedure used by those flying out of Potomac Airfield?

BTW, I think you discounted rather cavalierly a number of those 'trip wires' that I detailed in my previous post, such that you leave the impresison that 'all actions occur in a vaccuum unrelated to each other' when the truth is closer to the fact that putting the individual pieces together begins to paint a picture that intelligence agencies can use ...

"Everyone on the flight deck knows the ..."

That's NOT the point nor is that particularly relevant in flight - the point was that a pre-arranged code (or authentication phrase depending on the procedure) known only to the pilot could not be acquired by the spoofing pilot but only by the pilot presenting the proper ID and PW at the time the transcode or one-time response phrase was issued (was that not the whole gist of your scenario - a spoofed flight by a different pilot?) ...

One may have already been secured ...

Based on some other inputs posted here I think both you and I know *that* is bogus - it was, with almost 100 percent certainty reposessed ...

Good Luck, Arkie2. I was in Lagos for a 2-month TDY back in 1984. It was then the most dangerous spot on the planet and I don't think it's improved any over the years. Never been to Luanda, but a lot of my mates have and they tell me it was the absolute end of the earth. My old boss from Havana, Joe Sullivan, was the ambassador there.

Not being an aviation type, I can only surmise what might happen. How difficult would it be for a 727 to fly to Tripoli, undetected, fuel up, and then head for CONUS?

If you’re referring to Washington National, then no, even before 9/11 I avoided that place like the plague. We always took our passengers into either Dulles or Manassas and stayed the heck away from Disneyland on the Potomac.

I find it hard to believe, possessing the understanding of the NAS that I do that somewhere in some smoke filled room in the bowels of the CIA some Intel-nerd is pouring over all 66,000 IFR flight plans that were filed today, the ones that were canceled and never flown, amended by the pilot, changed by ATC, expired and fell out of the system an hour later then refilled 5 times by the pilot who kept putting off his departure time because his pax haven’t shown… in the US NAS and this does not account for all the other FP’s that were filed in other governments jurisdictions, plus every VFR aircraft that called up ATC after takeoff requesting VFR flight following and then being assigned a transponder code, every civilian jump plane that was given a “solid” by ATC then allowed to bust the class B, C or D repeatedly while maintain VFR, or the banner tow guys who were pulling just inside of controlled airspace but near the lower limits and ATC just wanted to be able to talk to, or the training flight where the instructor was trying to get in as many practice approach as he could during a single flt after coming from the schools training area, VFR then picking up an IFR clearance while maintaining VFR on the approaches, or just the local guy who went out to play for the afternoon, climb above a cloud layer got caught on top requested local IFR back to his departure airport and vectors for the approach in use.

I find that hard to believe when even today most ATC facilities are using equipment that still require vacuum tubes, their computer cannot talk to each other and hand offs are still done by land line.

I can’t count on all my fingers and toes the number of times I was given instructions to cross such-n-such a fix at such-n-such altitude, then handed off to a different center only to have to advise the controller what I was doing was in response to the previous controller, because he had no idea the instructions were given due to lack of ability to communicate with the other center.

The fact that you believe that all of theses decisions are controlled by something/someone central leads me to believe that you really have no exposure to the ATC system.

I’ve been flying for over 17 years before that I taught as a flight instructor at ERAU for two years, I trained as an FAA tower operator during college and I spent two years working part time in the Macon FSS. I’ve toured the NAS command center more times than I care to remember and every year I sit thought FAA safety seminars given by the Chief of Training for ATC in OKC and all they grip about is the lack of central abilities. GO back a re-read some of the stories that came to light after 9/11, interviews with controllers etc…

I am a member representative for our company to the NBAA, I hold a gold seal CFI and several FAA aviation safety awards, I’ve help write three training manuals still in use by Flight Safety for the Gulfstream IV and V and I am currently working with the FAA and several other corporate flight departments to finalize a security SOP for submission to the Director for her approval.

BEGIN QUOTE
That's NOT the point nor is that particularly relevant in flight - the point was that a pre-arranged code (or authentication phrase depending on the procedure) known only to the pilot could not be acquired by the spoofing pilot but only by the pilot presenting the proper ID and PW at the time the transcode or one-time response phrase was issued (was that not the whole gist of your scenario - a spoofed flight by a different pilot?)
END QUOTE

What you post here does not exist nor did it ever exist, period.

Shortly after 9/11 the FAA required a challenge and response system set up at several DC area airports, which was a colossal failure! Guess where you got the challenge and respond words for the day?

Over the very same phone system I described above when you file your flight plan with FSS, the person on the other end assumed you were authorized to land there and gave you the code.

I avoid DC as much as I can, the system may still be in place for all I know but every pilot I talked to who had to use it held similar opinions of it… a total waste of time energy and did nothing for security, it was simply a feel good measure the sheeple could read about in the local fish wrapper and feel safe enough to go flying.

Do you know I can file a flight plan to any military facility in the country at this very moment and FSS won’t question me? Why? Because they as they do with the above assume the you as PIC have the full authority to fly to and land there, they always have and up until a very large police and procedure change they always will.

Most all of what you described or claim exists does not exist simply because the system is too antiquated to support such gathering capabilities.

I realize this may sound harsh or condescending but it is not meant to be, I am not upset just, I get overtly worked up when I see wrong or misleading information being spread about in the media relating to aviation.

TMMT

Yup. Islamists teach deep history because so many leaders want the simple world and simple rule for their worker bees to be so 7th to 13th Century. Why is it that Islam's leaders are never suicide bombers?

Islamists just don't teach that Islam sprang from murdering bandits who discovered that invading neighboring, successful societies was more profitable than desert trash stealing from each other. It is there in the Koran and Haddith.

Why kill cousins when you can kill Jews and others, not mention slave them blonds. Notice that metasticizing Islam did not go deep into Africa, but tried to enter fertile and fair haired Europe. Attila, Mo'ham's soul mate, liked 'em blond and very young too. (Perhaps Attila's last orphaned, raped princess poisoned him. French foods...)

OSB's 1991 declaration of his hundred year war against our USA positioned himself as the proxy of choice to petro-dollar Islam. HamAss is vieing for Jew Killers with Zeal as they want all jews dead and Israel theirs. (This PA peace is just another lie for our and world politicians' mutual masterbation.)

The XXX/XY42 corruption chose crass self-indulgence and treasons over defense of our nation and our Constitution. Why get involved with OBL? Qieda's target is our economy and our faith in our selves to provider for our common defense. Pan-Islam prays for another world-wide "Viet Nam" with massive kills here on the homefront using all the modern, lethal technology that they can buy, which is a lot.

This bit of world history must be written by us because of our victories. The first skirmish is now over. Now we get serious, for decades.

A true history will clearly define the Clintons as the most disgraceful and dangerous co-presidents of the first American republic.

This terror war's home rule may kill our constitutional Republic as our rule of law has been undermined for 4 generations. Our open border must be sealed. Our leadership must be chosen more wisely.

The Global Caliphate is forming up Persians vs. Arabs. The shock of Iraq rapidly caving in but with some state of the art Russian technicians manned weapons systems working well against our heavy armor set the Russian weapons cash registers abuzz. "Snipers" aiming for troops and hard targets will be more and more lethal.

France will be more and more of our enemy because it is becoming the capital of Eurabia as its Islamic population grows from its 10% to 20% in two decades. The unarmed agnostic French will submit to the heavily armed mosques' devout.

Americans won't learn any history until it is repeated at the end of a barrel or infected, radiation haze. Survivors will miss the myth of the Clintons' golden era.

We adults must learn and teach faith, gardening, arms, and serious first responder aid skills. My goal this summer is two kids and three women, mothers if I can. BLOAT (buy lots of ammunition today), while we can.

A complex situation requires a simple response for us to live out our lives.

You know, that was funny a ABOUT 20 MILLION TIMES AGO!

Sheesh, get original.

It was meant to be sarcastic, not so much as funny.

Ans I know I am not the originator, but who really cares?

They didn't follow it by RADAR???? I can't BELIEVE that!! If they tried to get the pilot to answer and he didn't what DIMWIT thought...oh, well....wonder where he's going???? Sounds fishy.

CAP - You mean the Civil Air Patrol - WOW!

Uh, no. CAP is combat air patrol.

The pilot's family was on GMA this morning. I didn't catch all of the interview, but the FBI has been to see them, if only to notify them that the pilot was missing. The family hasn't heard from him and is very worried. If anyone else saw the interview, maybe they can post more of the details.

Are flights monitored across the Atlantic? (I think not)

If so, it would be simplest to have a real, approved flight take off and disappear, and have our Air Jihad 727 show up in the ADIZ five hours later, claiming to be Saudia Flight 6 or whatever.

By the time we had visual, it wou,d be too late.

Family Defends Pilot of Plane Missing in Angola .

They sure did.

Over the Atlantic there is no formal flight monitoring such as radar that most think of, it is done by what is called position reports.

Radar coverage ceases around 200 NM out from each coast line, prior to leaving radar coverage you call up on a special HF radio an oceanic area control center and request your oceanic clearance, which read back to you much like clearance delivery reads back a domestic flight plan prior to take off from a domestic airport.

Once you leave the radar areas you fly a specific airspeed assigned by OAC and maintain a certain altitude. At each waypoint you contact OAC with a position report which includes such info as time over fix, alt, airspeed, estimated time to next waypoint and the preceding waypoints name only, As OAC receives this info there is literally some guy in a room with a huge map if the North Atlantic who then plots your position by hand and then enters this information into a computer which transmits it back to your base of operations, a company called Aeronautical Radio Incorporated and the FAA.

The FAA is planning to implement by using satellite radio and GPS an automated system that transmits a continuous position of the plane to ATC which would use a computer display to plot aircraft positions much like a radar would, but this system is still, according to the FAA 5 years off at best.

The Repo man strikes the operators of the big planes too:

"03/06/03 - Leasing company General Electric Capital Aviation Services Thursday seized a Boeing 767 jet operated by Varig and bound for Rio de Janeiro, forcing passengers to transfer to other flights. [General Electric temporarily released the aircraft late Friday after negotiations on the leasing agreement; Varig will get to use the Boeing 767 again, but will return it and five other planes to General Electric.] The Brazilian airline had 13 planes leased from General Electric. The seizure follows a similar occurrence at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport in January, when a Boeing 777 operated by Varig was repossessed by a division of insurer American International Group for lack of payments. Brazilian airlines are suffering from the after-effects of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and Varig alone has incurred over $746 million in debt. In addition, Brazilian regulators have found $359 million in accounting errors among the airline's financials, and have asked Varig to restate its financial results for 2001 and the first half of 2002. Varig announced last month that it would be merging with TAM, another Brazilian carrier." Leasing Company Seizes Brazilian Jet [Then Releases It]