Missing Person Alert

Circumstances

Date of Disappearance

May 25, 2003

Notes

Ben Padilla and John Mutantu were employees working on a Boeing 727 (registration #N844AA) when it mysteriously took off from the tarmac with the two men on board. The plane was an older model that had been used by American Airlines for a quarter of a century before being purchased for private use. At the time of its disappearance, the plane was owned by American Maury Joseph (president of Aerospace Sales & Leasing), who had suffered a setback with a local businessman who had been leasing the plane but failed to make the payments. Joseph had decided to sell the plan on to IRS Airlines, a Nigerian company but by the time Ben was brought on as a mechanic / manager, the plane had been stranded for more than a year and was facing millions in fees at Luanda’s Quatro Fevereiro Airport. The crew had abandoned the plane and eventually Joseph hired Ben to manage the repairs and hire a crew to fly the plane to South Africa once authorization was given. Ben was an experienced and licensed flight mechanic from Florida, and he was working with Air Gemini at the time. Although, Ben was a licensed pilot, he had never flown a plane as large as the Boeing 727 and was not authorized to do so. He could however hire others to fly it, and so began his search for the minimally required three persons necessary to manage the aircraft. Two weeks prior to its planned trip to South Africa, Ben had hired pilots and was making plans to run through the final tests to ensure the plane was operational. Joseph visited the airport to verify everything was working and authorized Ben to pay approximately $43,000 to the airport. On the evening of May 25, 2003, between 5:00pm – 6:00pm (17:00 – 18:00), the Boeing 727 unexpectedly began taxing down the runway. The control tower had not been informed and was not able to contact the plane through radios. The plane appeared to be moving in a chaotic manner and the lights and transponders remained off when it suddenly lifted and took off. It headed towards Berkina Faso and the was one final contact when an unknown person spoke over the radio requesting authorization to land in the Seychelles. The plane never arrived and neither John Mutanu (a local mechanic working on the plane at the time) nor Ben were ever found. To anyone’s knowledge, the plane did not have enough men on board to successfully take off nor was anyone licensed to do so. If there were other persons on board, it was not authorized or known to authorities. It contained an estimated 14,0000gal (53,000 litres) of fuel which would allow the plane to travel approximately 1,490mi (2,400km)

Location of the Disappearance or Crime Scene

Airport

Potential Circumstances

Carjacking, Foreign Resident, Isolated Location, Multiple Persons Abducted, Multiple Victims, Wild Outdoors

Vehicle

Boeing 727 (200 Series). It was silver with red,white, and blue stripes on the side.

License Plate

Tail Number #N844AA; Serial # 20985

Photo of Vehicle

Suspect

Suspect Description

Photo of Suspect