On May 25, 2003, a Boeing 727-223 aircraft was stolen from the Quatro de Fevereiro Airport in Luanda, Angola.
The former American Airlines jet was owned by the Miami-based company Aerospace Sales & Leasing, and being leased to TAAG Angola Airlines at the time of its disappearance. Ben Charles Padilla – a certified flight engineer, aircraft mechanic, and private pilot – and helper John Mikel Mutantu were working with Angolan mechanics to return the 727 to flight-ready status after a business deal gone bad. Neither man could fly it – Mutantu was not a pilot and Padilla had only a private pilot's license. A 727 requires a three person trained crew.
After Padilla and Mutantu boarded the plane, the aircraft began taxiing and maneuvering erratically with no communication between the crew and the control tower. The 727 took off with its transponder and lights off. The jet and the two men have not been seen since.
While it's believed that Padilla was at the controls, some members of his family claim he was hired to repossess the jet after Air Angola failed to make payments, while others fear he was being held against his will.
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