missing 727 airplane

[terryg11]

I thought nbc or somebody was going to talk about this tonight but wasn't home did anyone catch it or was I mistaken?

If I remember correctly a 727 was reported stolen, missing, whatever from an airport overseas most likely in the mideast region a month or so back.

Does anyone remember this or have info?

[DagmarK]

1. It was a couple of months ago that it went missing.......

it was from an African nation.....

I can't remember exactly........

But did something new come up about it today?

[ewagner]

2. Last I heeard

It was spotted by another commercial pilot in Africa. He said that the registration numbers were painted over but you could still make out the registration.

Assumptions were that somebody was dodging paying taxes or maintenance fees. Haven't heard anything else in a couple of weeks.

[terryg11]

3. not sure yet, just thought I would check in here first

since people here are usually on top of the news.

I know they speculated about terrorists taking it yet that seems kind a little odd. why not steal one before now? especially now when airport security is surely even tighter than a few years ago. You gotta have connections to steal one of those, even in some far off country they have serious airport security.

[jiacinto]

4. This is what I heard

That the owner was behind significantly on its payments. And so, in order to avoid the repo man, he flew away.

[BrotherBuzz]

5. Vanished from Angola, turned up in Guinea, disappeared again!

I followed that story and it was solved to my satisfaction. Egg on the face of US intel for trying to make it into a big terrorism story as this was nothing but a simple money dispute. A no brainer in that shady part of the world; pay huge bill or skip town.


Here is a early link with the terrorist spin



here is a link that solves the mystery

<snip>
A Western diplomat in Freetown, Sierra Leone's capital, said it was more likely the plane had simply been snatched from Luanda because its owner was reluctant to pay year-long airport taxes, totalling $50,000 (£30,000). "There,s always a shady side to business around here," he said. "But as for the terrorism stuff, that sounds like a complete load of rubbish."
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