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Family of Possible 727 Pilot: He Is Not A Terrorist
ABC News Exclusive ^
| June 19, 2003
| Invesigative Team staff report
Posted on 06/19/2003 9:05:47 AM PDT by ewing
The family of a man believed to have been piloting a Boeing 727 that mysteriously took off and disappeared from an Angolan runway last month told told of their angiush as international authorities fear the jetliner could be used for a terrorist act.
In a baffling vanishing act, workers at the Luanda Airport in Angola watched dumbfounded on May 25 as the Boeing 727 taxied down the runway and took off- without permission.
The plane -which ABC News has learned was refitted to haul diesel fuel tanks, making it a potential flying bomb-has not been seen since.
The man the United States Government suspects of piloting the 727 Benjamin Padilla-a US citizen from Florida.
Padilla too, has vanished, and his family is worried.
'I am concerned that he might have been hijacked,' Padilla brother said in an exclusive interview with ABC News.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
TOPICS: Breaking News; Crime/Corruption; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Government; Israel; News/Current Events; US: District of Columbia; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: 727; angola; b727; benjaminpadilla; family; flyingbomb; hijack; luanda; terrorism
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To: Grut
"This bird is probably at the bottom of a crater somewhere in the rain forest.Very unlikely, since the plane was stripped and fitted with tanks inside, if that thing did crash the explosion alone would have been picked up for miles. Assuming that a Sat. did not pick it up first.
To: MizSterious
The American Ailrlines logo had been scratched off the bird.
42
posted on
06/19/2003 9:46:42 AM PDT
by
ewing
To: ewing
Which would make it easier to paint a new one (using the same airline co. as the stolen transponder)...
43
posted on
06/19/2003 10:07:14 AM PDT
by
MizSterious
(Support whirled peas!)
To: RJL
Well, the story I heard was that they were or were going to use it to deliver fuel in Africa. I don't know if that makes sense, is impossible, or just a bad idea. It does seem possible that things we would never consider doing here is done in the assbackwards parts of the world all the time.
To: ewing
Hope this Padilla doesn't go bad like the other one...
45
posted on
06/19/2003 10:08:46 AM PDT
by
jriemer
(We are a Republic not a Democracy)
To: ewing; All
Here's a reference post about the same story.
To: Hodar
That Padilla was also alleged to have spent some time in FL in the same area and same timeframe as the 9-11 hijackers. Most likely a case of a mercenary pilot securing the plane from a business dispute as was formerly thought, but one never knows.
47
posted on
06/19/2003 10:17:18 AM PDT
by
Space Wrangler
(Now I know what it's like washing windows when you know that there are pigeons on the roof...)
To: Space Wrangler
Rogue Agent perhaps?
48
posted on
06/19/2003 10:20:17 AM PDT
by
ewing
To: MizSterious
Personally, the whole idea seems far fetched and comically ameturish.
From what I have been able to gather, the tanks inside are not tied in to the fuel system. From what I know about jet fuel systems,(which is limited) to tie in tanks is a very complicated process requiring specially skilled mechanics and the right parts to re-plumb the jet. Then there is the issue of the fuel lines running through the pressure hull (VERY complicated!).
All that aside, perhaps the plane could get fueled, but the range is still a problem. It takes fuel to haul fuel. And fuel weighs 6 pounds a gallon. Doubling fuel does not double range.
A 727, especially one that is being sought, could not get close to the US without attracting all kinds of unwanted attention. An aircraft at that altitude (20,000+ feet) without a transponder, or one without a filed flight plan, or one that is not following proper flight procedures, or vectoring in from an unusual direction, or one that does not respond to communication....
You get the picture.
I think that this plane will be found scattered over a jungle or savannah in Africa, due to the fact that it was sitting (I am assuming without maintenence) for 14 months. It takes a crew to keep aircraft like that going. The engines have to be run up, fluid levels checked and replaced, etc....
To: Ayn Rand wannabe
Your correct...you can extend the range of any airplane by installing reseve tanks in the passenger/cargo compartment as long as you do not exceed the takeoff weight or the load balance......
I ferried planes a looooooong time ago and we routinely loaded reserve tanks in the passenger compartment.
Sounds as though our friend is trying for a long non-stop to somewhere rather than a flying bomb.......
The existing transponder can be set for any code or turned off.....
NeverGore
50
posted on
06/19/2003 10:22:44 AM PDT
by
nevergore
(Please return your seat trays and seats to their full and upright position....)
To: Weimdog
There is still the maximum payload issue. If the plane is too heavy it won't get off the ground. The maximum range fully loaded with ANYTHING is 2,100 miles. Not if the extra ANYTHING is fuel ...
51
posted on
06/19/2003 10:28:12 AM PDT
by
cinFLA
To: ewing
What happened at the WTC was really a 0.5 ton mini nuke in NYC because of the structural damage to the buildings around there.The buildings survived the impact. It was the fire that took them down.
52
posted on
06/19/2003 10:31:22 AM PDT
by
cinFLA
To: ewing
Family of Possible 727 Pilot: He Is Not A TerroristTHIS can't be right, junior sleuths!
Go with your guts - track down the conspriracy that's behind this sinister plot involving a 727 that was repo'd from a man who owed A LOT of people money!
I, personnally am looking forward to the entertainmant value as well as the monumental waste of mental energy and time you'll spend in 'dreaming up' motive, etc. ...
</sarcasm>
53
posted on
06/19/2003 10:32:14 AM PDT
by
_Jim
To: ewing
Alright he is a thief, a felon....
54
posted on
06/19/2003 10:34:25 AM PDT
by
bmwcyle
(Here's to Hillary's book sinking like the Clinton 2000 economy)
To: ewing
"He couldn't put diesel in his 727 tanks.. "
Jet A and diesel fuel are essentially the same.
To: ewing
I thought we figured out this was a repo job. I guess not.
Padilla huh. Any relation to the other Padilla?
56
posted on
06/19/2003 10:47:03 AM PDT
by
TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig
(Soccer Mom's flee the Rats for Bush in his flight suit: I call this the Moisture Factor. MF high!)
To: RJL
It's for moving diesel fuel around Africa. Try driving a couple of fuel trucks across that continent and see how far you get before your killed.
57
posted on
06/19/2003 10:52:48 AM PDT
by
TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig
(Soccer Mom's flee the Rats for Bush in his flight suit: I call this the Moisture Factor. MF high!)
To: ewing
He does not look like a terrorist to me.
To: cinFLA
I was talking about the surrounding buildings, they were damages for blocks around..
59
posted on
06/19/2003 11:36:48 AM PDT
by
ewing
To: poindexter
So it is possible for him to refuel himself?
60
posted on
06/19/2003 11:37:28 AM PDT
by
ewing
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