Family of Possible 727 Pilot: He Is Not A Terrorist

if this plane is using a cloaking device, and can fire a
photon torpedo while cloaked...

If the tanks were filled with helium, would that increase the range?

Just kidding. I sure hope they find this soon. The Persian Gulf/Med are within range - wouldn't want it to divebomb into an aircraft carrier or something.

I am the sister of the man who is being referred to as the pilot of this missing 727 from Angola. First of all, I want to clarify a few postings made below. We are NOT related to Jose Padilla and my brother Ben has lived in South Florida for over 20 years. Any inference made that he just happened to be there when the 9/11 terrorists were training is just plain ignorance and lack of knowing the facts surrounding his life. Also, Padilla is a common hispanic surname like Smith is to caucasians. My brother IS a patriot and our family knows that he was repossessing the aircraft as instructed by his employer. He has fallen victim to and has been kidnapped by either a terrorist or criminal organization. His employer also has faith in him and his integrity and character. He would not steal anything and on the contrary constantly tried to save his employer money by renogiating operational maintenance contracts on this aircraft and the fees owed to the airport. He is a generous man, trying to make a living in a dangerous country. He's not unlike any one of you and our family is devastated as the possibility we may never see him again. He was a single father during the 70s and 80s and raised two children by himself. His nomadic nature I referred to on GMA is the fact that his children are now adults and he loves to travel and fly and has no reason to maintain a home here any longer. He is very adventurous and loves life. He began his career as a millwright, and then became an A/P (aircraft mechanic) and then obtained his pilot's license. Nothing in his character would even remotely indicate he has 'switched' alliances, particularly after his strong feelings about the 9/11 incidents. As long as he had one breath in his body, he would NOT allow Americans to be harmed with an aircraft.

Hi Benita, I'm sure you already know that the plane was recovered re painted in Africa. Did you get a contact yet via Email or otherwise?

Was a report on Fox News last night that a pilot of a plane says he spotted the missing plane. He said it was being used elsewhere. It apparently hadn't fully been painted over and the pilot claimed to have read its equivalent of a VIN to identify it. If I understood the report correctly when authorities went to look into it the plane had been moved again. Don't know if I believe this here, just passing it on.

Thanks for the info. We had received initial notification of this incident; however, this was a false alarm. This was NOT the plane from Angola. Still no word on what has happened to my brother or the plane in question. Also, for the record, my brother was not the pilot, although some witnesses and reports have indicated otherwise. Hard to see who is behind the wheel, so to speak on an aircraft of this size at the particular distance. He was the designated flight engineer and the legal representative for his employer hired to oversee the repossession of this aircraft. He had hired pilots to have this plane removed from Luanda. He just so happened to be a licensed pilot and mechanic; although, he was NOT licensed to fly a 727, much less land it at night. Also, operational maintenance had been performed on the aircraft prior to its departure so a crash is less than likely. Anyone out there who knows anything about the whereabouts of my brother, PLEASE let me know. I will follow any viable leads.... Thanks.

Who is his employer?

Hi BPK, I hope that your brother will be found in good health. Sorry,if anything was said to offend you and/or the rest of the members of your family. I hope that you can understand the concern of the individuals that are aware of this situation. Has the other mechanic and his wife been located. I myself and I'm sure lots of others try to stay abreast of this situation. It is a good thing that you step forward here on FR to inform us of the circumstances surrounding the matter. Welcome aboard.

Thanks for your concern. I understand the public's concern about terrorism, and rightly so. However, let me reassure everyone once again that my brother is not a terrorist or a criminal. He's a good guy, very generous and absolutely hates a thief, and even more so -terrorists. The problem is, we don't think that he has any control over the plane at this point, and probably never did once the plane departed. Our family is absolutely devastated at the thought of never seeing him alive again. We love him and want him home, regardless of the outcome. The mechanic, John Mikel Mutantu, has not been discovered either. His wife, apparently distraught at the announcement of her missing husband, disappeared about a week later (reportedly returned to the Congo) and the FBI or state department is not sharing any information about her whereabouts with us. I have asked numerous questions, only to be stopped with a response like 'we can't tell you that'. I understand national security issues, but it's extremely hard to sit around and wait.... We did the interviews in the hopes of getting my brother's picture out there and reassuring everyone that he is not involved in anything that would harm anyone or break the law. We're weary and just don't want to do any more interviews. His employer, Maury Joseph, owner of Aerospace Sales and Leasing has the utmost confidence and trust in my brother Ben and also believes that he did not pilot this plane. Once again, he was not certified to fly a 727, much land it at night. Maybe the pilots he hired were on board after all? The story is full of bribery and cover-ups from the Angolan government. The most daunting thought of all is the fact that we might never know what happened. ---BPK

Thanks BPK for your response to my post. My heart goes out to you and all your love ones. I cannot imagine what you guys are going through at this time. I offer my prayers for your family and for your brother's safe return. Please keep us updated as much as is possible for you and I myself will keep an eye out for any news in this matter in order to post here on FR. May God bless this to all turn out positive.

ALL:

it's been 10 weeks now and no word on where my brother is and in what condition. We, the family, are in great despair as we fear the worst. We recently did an interview with NBC Nightly News, which should air sometime this week, and are hoping that the government will post a reward. I have since heard that there is that possibility and that my brother's picture will be physically posted on storefront windows, billboards and match book covers in Africa. Please keep praying for his safe return. Thank you.

Benita

Subject: Missing Boeing 727 Plane from Angola on May 25 2003.

Yes,
I am Joseph B. Padilla, SR.
I live in Pensacola, Florida - U.S.A.
I am the Brother of Ben Charles Padilla Jr.
He is suspected to be the Pilot of the Missing Boeing 727 Plane that left the Airport in Angola on May 25 2003.
I am tring to reach news organizations to help me locate anyone that has seen or heard anything about this missing plane or my brother.
I appeared on ABC's , Good Morning Amercia alone with my Sister Benita Padilla-Kirkland on June 19 2003 in hopes to get the story out and to Locate my brother.
We both also appeared on CNN's Morning show, American Morning on June 24 2003.
Can you please help me by broadcasting a story or by your website news or newspaper?
I have alot of information about the dissapearance of the plane and my brother.
You can contact me at : 850-944-9688 or either by e-mail -
padilla1956@cox.net
I hope that you will give me your help in hopes that someone seeing the story will either know something about the dissappearance of the plane and my brother or know someone that does.
Here is what I have so far about the story.

As in the begining as I told ABC News on The Good Morning America Show that I appeared on in New York, I thought that the Boeing 727 Plane had been sitting there in Angola for 14 months unattended to and not maintained.
Now, I have found out that My Brother, Ben Charles Padilla, Jr. had been in Angola for 2 months overseeing a crew of aircraft mechanics re-working the plane from one end to the other.
A B-Check was done and it was found to be fine.
I talked to the owner of the plane, Mr. Maury Joseph, which is also the owner of Aerospace Sales And Leasing in South Florida.
I too live in florida, Pensacola, Fl. and my brother too was born and raised here.
Maury Joseph told me that he was there in Angola two weeks before the disappearance to see how things were going with the re-build of the 727 and also talked to my brother 2 days before the plane became missing and he had sent my brother $43,000.00 for him to pay the fees to the airport there in Angola. My brother paid the airport and faxed Maury Joseph the reciept, This is what Maury Joseph told me this past friday night during our two and a half hour phone conversation.
My brother was also incharge of the hiring of a pilot and co-pilot. He was to be the Flight Engineer for the flight out of Angola for the repossession of the Boeing 727 plane.
My brother is not licensed to fly a 727 and never has flown an aircraft this large.
He is a Licensed Aircraft Mechanic, Flight Engineer, and Pilot of smaller airplanes.
I was told that he had took the plane out to the end of the runway and ran the engines up to check to see how they performed.
I feel that when my brother was checking the engines, someone was on the plane and hijacked him.
My brother isn't a criminal nor has never done any wrong doings.
Maury Joseph told me that he trusts my brother and doesn't believe the reports of my brother stealing the plane.
Maury Joseph also told me that he had talked to the Airport there in Angola and had found out that the control tower had radioed the 727 and told them as they were headed out to the runway to take off, that they didn't have clearance nor permission to take off and the tower never recieved a response from the 727.
I talked to my brother Ben Padilla, Jr. back in either Jan. or Feb. and we talked about the Sept. 11 2001 ordeal and he himself told me that if this sort of thing ever happend to him, that he would down the plane in a New York Second.
So, with that said I really believe my brother was hijacked and taken prisonier and held against his will and possibly was killed.
My mother had a heart attack on Mothers day and my brother was e-mailed about this and he responded to the e-mail he recieved from another brother of ours and told him that he would contact us as soon as he could and we haven't heard anything from him. So, that tells me that something isn't right since he would of contacted the family about our mother.
I have talked to the FBI and State Department in Washington, D.C. and all they are willing to tell me is that they have not found my brother nor the plane. So, I am tring to search for any information that I can get thru news organizations.
I find alot of stories on the internet and try to get any of the news organizations to run this story.
I also include a couple of pictures of my brother so incase anyone knows anything or has seen him before, to please contact me.
I am including in this e-mail 2 pictures of him incase you run this story inwhich I hope you do.
I would like to include my e-mail address and phone number incase some one reads or sees this that they can contact me.
My phone number is, 850-944-9688 and my e-mail address is, padilla1956@cox.net
Our family has already lost 2 siblings and can not bear to lose another one.
I would appreciate any help you can give me.
If you need any additional information, Please don't hesitate to contact me.
Thank you so much for your time.
Joseph B. Padilla, SR.