In 2003, two individuals managed to steal a Boeing 727 from Luanda International Airport in Angola. They then took off in the aircraft, which led to a massive international search by various intelligence agencies. However, both the plane and the men who stole it disappeared without a trace.

[-]

Existing-Stranger632@reddit

If I’m a betting man they’re in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean somewhere about 20,000 feet below sea level

[-]

Subtotal9_guy@reddit

Insurance scam, maybe they thought they could do a DB Cooper out the rear stairs.

[-]

Pizza_Middle@reddit

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't they make some kind of update that prevented the rear stairs from opening in flight after the DB Cooper thing?

[-]

AFakeName@reddit

Imagine having an airplane part named after you and not being able to tell anyone.

[-]

DB cooper most likely smashed into the ground at terminal velocity and died lol they wrote down all of the bills they gave him and none of them were found except for some near a river where he jumped. If he had spent any of the money it would have ended up in circulation and found eventually but none of it was.

[-]

CptDrips@reddit

I've always thought that some of the more successful crimes get covered up in order to deter copycats.

[-]

Shawnj2@reddit

I mean the better scenario for the FBI would be if they had actually found DB Cooper when they searched for him the next day lol.

[-]

CptDrips@reddit

I was thinking the bills made it back into circulation, just without them ever catching him.

[-]

theguineapigssong@reddit

If he took the money overseas it's probably still in circulation there.

[-]

AlmostaPoppa@reddit

It would have circulated back by now

[-]

Funwithfun14@reddit

FBI wrote down all of the bills they gave him and none of them were found

Tellers near the hijacking likely looked for a month or so..... elsewhere in the US tellers looked for a week. If the money was spent, we would have never known.

[-]

Shawnj2@reddit

Sure but the mint would likely keep checking the bills any time they got money back

[-]

Funwithfun14@reddit

The Fed gets the bills back but they weren't checked.

[-]

Pallets_Of_Cash@reddit

The more interesting mystery is how has he remained an unknown person after all these years. He wasn't some vagabond living off the radar. Maybe his family knew he did it and took measures to create a cover for his death.

[-]

zigthis@reddit

There is actually a new DB Cooper suspect named Milton Vordahl who was discovered after the tie left behind by Cooper was analyzed. Some unique metal alloy particles were found in the tie and traced to a company where Vordahl had related patents and also knowledge on the inner workings of a 727. He was laid off in 1971 and his boss was named Don Cooper. His photo closely resembles the Cooper sketches. https://norjak.org/vordahl/

[-]

Ruin369@reddit

Wow, that page is incredible interesting.

[-]

zigthis@reddit

The best part is how they found out - he was checking all these boxes as Cooper BEFORE they ever saw what he looked like. Apparently at CooperCon (yes there is a CooperCon) last year there were gasps throughout the room when Vordahl's photo was put up for the first time.

[-]

zigthis@reddit

There's a theory that Cooper himself survived but lost his money bag in the drop. The money bag he was given was a bank bag and not a knapsack as he had specified in the demand, and he spent some time rigging up the bag with ropes from one of the extra parachutes to attach it to himself before jumping. Apparently this is a popular hunch among the FBI investigators who worked the case.

[-]

reddittallintallin@reddit

Unless he or others used them in other countries that accept dollars.

[-]

Shawnj2@reddit

So he lands in the middle of nowhere Oregon or Washington state and managed to get to Mexico or South America without spending any of the ransom money anywhere?

[-]

T-Kontoret@reddit

At least one of them would have made it back to USA by now.

[-]

reddittallintallin@reddit

Could be or couldn't. 50 % of printed money is abroad, corrupt officials or cartels or mafias are known to stash money for years, citizens in 3rd world could have saving in dollars and also stashed. If they enter the us they need to be processed from someone that detect the numbers or taken out because degradation.

Ransom was only 10k bills of 20$

[-]

peakbuttystuff@reddit

Nobody knows. That's the fun part.

[-]

AFakeName@reddit

I also have read the wikipedia page.

[-]

JuanMurphy@reddit

They can still open in flight.

Source: tested jumping out of that airframe.

[-]

Derek420HighBisCis@reddit

No, they can’t. They are mechanically locked by airflow and they are not connected to powered actuators to move them to the unlock position while in flight.

[-]

JuanMurphy@reddit

Then explain how I’ve walked down aft stairs while in flight.

[-]

Derek420HighBisCis@reddit

From Wikipedia: “The Cooper vane is a very simple device: It consists of a spring-loaded paddle connected to a plate that prevents the ventral airstair of an aircraft from being lowered in flight.[1] When the aircraft is on the ramp, the spring keeps the paddle perpendicular to the fuselage, and the attached plate does not block the stairway. As the aircraft takes off, the airflow pushes the paddle parallel to the fuselage and the plate is moved underneath the stairway, preventing it from being lowered. Once the airflow decreases on landing, the spring-loaded paddle returns to its initial position, thereby allowing the stairs to be lowered again. McDonnell Douglas DC-9 aircraft with ventral stairs were also equipped with Cooper vanes.“

Having been a test jumper for the MV-22 and C-17 programs, I’m familiar with the test jumps in the past (as part of the many discussions in that field). The Cooper Vane is not able to be released by aircrew while in forward flight by its very design. I’d be very interested to have concrete evidence provided. It defeats the purpose of the device if you are able to unlock while in flight. It actuates at speeds well below stall speed of the aircraft, so slowing down in flight to try to get it to unlock would result in the airplane stalling and loss of control well before the thing unlocked.

[-]

Derek420HighBisCis@reddit

It wasn’t installed would be the only way.

[-]

Expo737@reddit

Cool, I think it was more of a deterrent than an actual practical solution, particularly so given that this was in the days before the internet when there stood a chance of copycats.

[-]

uburoy@reddit

So you pulled a “Juan Murphy?”

[-]

Lonetrek@reddit

Was cool to see it fairly up close at the Boeing museum in Seattle. I was surprised they didn't have a placard or anything else to call it out. I think it's a novel tidbit of info for even the casual observer.

[-]

sizziano@reddit

Yes but it wouldn't really be hard to remove especially for a mechanic.

[-]

Existing-Stranger632@reddit

It’s very possible. But you’d think that the aircraft has been recovered by now unless they ditched it at a high enough altitude that they could make it to land safely and the plane would hit the water.

[-]

really_random_user@reddit

But then there would be debris floating

[-]

00Cheli@reddit

Debri of plane explosion. If the plane just fell in the ocean whole it's just at the bottom of the ocean

[-]

Existing-Stranger632@reddit

That’s true but I also think back to MH370 where it took years for debris to show up anywhere. It’s possible debris has washed ashore somewhere and people didn’t know what it was/where it came from.

[-]

interstellartopmovie@reddit

No debris was found. They found something that they think it belong to mh370, but they’re not sure 100%

[-]

Hugo_5t1gl1tz@reddit

They’ve found debris that has been confirmed to be from MH370

[-]

990403@reddit

Prove it.

[-]

the1stAviator@reddit

Serial numbers on the parts apparently

[-]

FlightSimmerUK@reddit

They weren’t serial numbers, they were part numbers.

[-]

adamdoesmusic@reddit

How many 777s are in the pacific?

[-]

FlightSimmerUK@reddit

With the serial number plate missing on the identifiable part found? One, apparently.

[-]

adamdoesmusic@reddit

Had it been towed outside the environment?

[-]

the1stAviator@reddit

OK clever dick, but notice l did say "apparently".

[-]

FlightSimmerUK@reddit

Wow, no need for the insult. Apparently, the word apparently means others aren’t allowed to add to the discussion. Will remember that going forwards.

[-]

the1stAviator@reddit

No. Apparently means 'it could be but not necessarily '.

[-]

FlightSimmerUK@reddit

And where’s the harm in someone adding information, as I did?

[-]

the1stAviator@reddit

None at all. I've had a bad morning. I just need to kick ass.

[-]

jtshinn@reddit

It’s pretty well solved but that’s really been unreported by the media. The first officer had simulated flying a 777 out over the Indian Ocean and depressurizing it. It’s all but confirmed that he did just that, kept a mask on himself for some reason, and let the plane run out of fuel.

[-]

mdp300@reddit

And this was a ratty, old plane, stolen from a relatively little known (to the rest of the qorld) airport in Afruca, with nobody on it except the pilots. It got basically no pressure, and no reaction other than "that's weird."

Like you said, if pieces washed up somewhere, nobody would have even noticed.

[-]

mduell@reddit

It was a bit more concern than that, given the proximity in time to 9/11.

[-]

OD_Emperor@reddit

Yeah but it's really hard to hide a 727.

[-]

bill75075@reddit

Evidently not that hard. Lol!

[-]

OD_Emperor@reddit

Well when it's in the ocean lol

[-]

ConsiderationFirm258@reddit

Apparently one of the world’s largest oil producers and an OPEC member is “little known”…

[-]

CounterAdmirable4218@reddit

Why is this being upvoted. Some assumptions there, I don't think we've ever seen any real evidence of MH370 debris, probably because there isn't any.

[-]

Existing-Stranger632@reddit

There definitely was debris recovered from MH370 it’s just that not much was recovered. Just a few pieces that could be tracked back to it but we really haven’t recovered much other than what’s in this article (keep in mind this is a 7 year old CNN article that hasn’t been updated since).

[-]

hardware1197@reddit

Speaking of CNN didn’t Don Lemon solve it by his “black hole” theory? https://youtu.be/ZpVd7k1Uw6A?si=9LpkJcQuXB5OnuX0

[-]

sizziano@reddit

Incorrect

[-]

teutonischerBrudi@reddit

There is some:

Indeed, on July 30 2015 a large piece of debris – a flaperon (moving part of a plane wing) – washed up on Reunion Island in the western Indian Ocean. It was later confirmed to belong to MH370.

In subsequent months, additional aircraft debris was found in the western Indian Ocean in Mauritius, Tanzania, Rodrigues, Madagascar, Mozambique and South Africa.

https://theconversation.com/mh370-disappearance-10-years-on-can-we-still-find-it-224954

[-]

BeGoneWithU@reddit

That's not true. It didn't take years..

[-]

FiddleTheFigures@reddit

God I hope he’s reading thing somewhere, sippin on a G&T.

[-]

gromm93@reddit

I have a better insurance scam.

Make the plane disappear into a private airport, and sell the parts.

And nondescript everyman shaves the mutton chops.

[-]

Subtotal9_guy@reddit

Definitely could head out to sea and turn back to Namibia. 727 is a robust enough plane you could definitely put it down somewhere off the beaten path.

[-]

StTimmerIV@reddit

They have since installed a 'cooper vane' to stop the rear stairs from opening in flight.

[-]

Subtotal9_guy@reddit

That was mentioned elsewhere. I hadn't heard about that. Maybe they hadn't either.

[-]

Jamgull@reddit

DB Cooper also probably didn’t survive his escape to be fair

[-]

fenuxjde@reddit

A plane that was sitting for nearly two years, well out of maintenance and inspection, flown by a single, unqualified pilot?

No!

[-]

thealbertaguy@reddit

Unqualified and unskilled are different...

[-]

fenuxjde@reddit

Very true, but I think the "it normally requires a crew of three" negates some of that argument. And the plane was in crap shape.

[-]

Upper_Rent_176@reddit

Wouldn't one of those three be the flight engineer and you probably don't need to do calculations and manage fuel to optimise it or stuff if you're just stealing the plane?

[-]

PferdBerfl@reddit

But you’d have to know how to start the APU, start the engines, put the generators on-line, use enough flaps for takeoff, etc. It was a beautiful airplane to fly, but not at all initiative. One would have to have fairly solid system knowledge to do it.

[-]

Upper_Rent_176@reddit

My point was that "it's a 3 man crew" isn't a thing stopping 2 guys

[-]

Miserable-Bowl-684@reddit

Padilla was/is known to be a pretty good 727 flight engineer. There have been quite a few sightings of both these guys in different parts of Africa.

[-]

PferdBerfl@reddit

My point was that an FE does more than calculate performance and manage fuel. Can it be flown with one person? Sure. I’m just saying that they’d have to really know what they were doing. Which they may have.

[-]

uburoy@reddit

My flight instructor was chief of training for TWA, which flew the 727. The nickname for that plane was apparently “the Pig”. From all the stories he told me about what it was like to fly that thing, it would literally be a miracle if two pilots got anywhere with the damn thing. It really sounded like a three pilot ship.

Now, if you were planning to steal one, and you asked experienced pilots how to fly it with two pilots, I’m sure it could be done. But not without real risk.

[-]

No-Milk-874@reddit

Flight engineer planes didn't really need a flight engineer to just fly. Even the old Electra/Orion was basically APU on, all switches forward, big green button for each engine start (rotary switch), oil cooler flaps open 60%, and off you go. All doable from the captains seat, if a bit awkward.

All of the engine gages and annunciator lights were optional if you didn't care about breaking things.

[-]

thealbertaguy@reddit

To what standard?

[-]

fenuxjde@reddit

The airline who said it was no longer airworthy, the leasing company who said it needed heavy refurbishing, or the various government agencies that said it was unworthy to fly.

But you're right. Maybe one unqualified pilot managed to fly a big, broken down airplane somewhere secretly and land it, and... do what with it? Sell it? Scrap it? Use it?

It was never fueled or crossed any airspace after a couple hours after takeoff.

[-]

BugMan717@reddit

Read the article, it was refurbished and was days away from being flown out to be sold or scrapped. So it was definitely airworthy.

[-]

thealbertaguy@reddit

Those are not related to actual flight abilities. Ex - non- working non-smoking signs can ground some aircrafts.

[-]

Spin737@reddit

Yep. Not legal and not flyable are to very different things.

[-]

AlbinoAlex@reddit

They were working on fixing it up though. Sure that plane requires a crew of three and there were only potentially two people, neither of which had flying experience. But remember Sky King? Only experience was PS2 and he still pulled off a barrel roll.

[-]

AButtom@reddit

Though the 727 is a far more complex plane to fly, way less automation. It still has a flight engineer so flying it single pilot is far harder

[-]

superspeck@reddit

The guy whose charter flight pilot had a heart attack and he landed the plane at palm beach in FL also only had played GTA and he managed to pull the plane out of a fast dive without tearing the wings off and then to land it with just radioed advice.

[-]

eidetic@reddit

and then to land it with just radioed advice.

"Just radioed advice" is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. Without being talked down, it's unlikely he gets that thing safely on the ground.

And I don't think this aircraft would be missing if someone successfully talked them through landing. (I mean, I guess it's possible someone else in on it talked them through it, but yeah, seems highly unlikely.)

[-]

superspeck@reddit

Most airline pilots couldn’t guarantee they could land a caravan with nothing except radioed advice.

[-]

Hypnoti_q@reddit

Most airline pilots should be able to land a caravan safely

[-]

chrisb_ni@reddit

Even fixed wing?

[-]

mexicoke@reddit

An expert knows his/her work is never guaranteed.

[-]

carl-swagan@reddit

Flying around in circles and doing a barrel roll would be relatively easy for anyone who’s messed around with a flight simulator before.

Navigating and landing are an entirely different animal.

[-]

WigglingWeiner99@reddit

This implies that Russell accidentally crashed when he himself said, after the barrel roll didn't destroy the plane and ATC requested that he land, "I don't want to. I was kind of hoping that was gonna be it, you know?" His statements imply that that his "smoking hole" was more Germanwings 9525 and less incompetence.

[-]

US_and_A_is_wierd@reddit

I mean at least he wasn't having any PAX in there with him.

[-]

carl-swagan@reddit

What I’m saying is that he didn’t demonstrate that an average person can safely or competently fly an airplane. The fact that he managed to do a barrel roll without hitting the ground is not as impressive as the people who glorify his suicide think it is.

[-]

God_Damnit_Nappa@reddit

It is really freaking weird that people here glorify that idiot's suicide. It's fortunate he crashed into a very sparsely populated island, but even then he still could've gotten someone on the ground killed.

[-]

zuluhotel@reddit

The pilot was a flight engineer, and a private pilot. So navigation likely wasn't a problem.

[-]

momayham@reddit

Not too much? He ran out of fuel.

[-]

Redfish680@reddit

Penny. Super hottie!!

[-]

fenuxjde@reddit

Yeah I mean I'm definitely not saying it's impossible, but in all likelihood, that plane is very much at the bottom of an ocean.

[-]

BolivianRedditor@reddit

You haven't seen narcos nor read about El señor de los cielos...

[-]

Fine_Loquat6580@reddit

“The large aircraft had been stripped and refitted and was now just days away from being moved and sold off to the highest bidder.”

“One of the individuals was an American pilot and flight engineer, while the other was an airplane mechanic.”

[-]

caucafinousvehicle@reddit

Sea level is like 50ft on average lol

[-]

acEiseTernal@reddit

exactly what i was gonna say xd

[-]

DrVinylScratch@reddit

BET: IT will be found in the next 3 years by one of two groups: people looking for a shipwreck based on last known location OR some dude looking for jewelry that was lost at sea.

Calling it now

[-]

anonymousposter121@reddit

Nope. Aliens stealing our technology

[-]

Scrungyscrotum@reddit

Well, are you a betting man?

[-]

Asleep-Fudge3185@reddit

No, not from Angola w 15k miles of fuel onboard. It was likely delivered to someone with a lot of money. As for the men, who knows.

[-]

Buckeyeguy-77@reddit

Good for them and shame on the intelligence agencies that haven’t been able to figure it out. It’s obvious they didn’t crash and I’m sure all airports, airstrips, and every possible area they could land in were searched. I find it hard to believe they could have gotten such a head start, but my only thought is that after they landed they managed to hide the plane (a large task, I know) and then stripped it/chop shopped it (again a very large task, I know). They couldn’t just strip it and “sneak” it back into service, even with help (and I’m sure they had quite a bit of it), so hiding and/or chop shopping it and then disappearing seems the only explanation. A bit shocking considering this was 2003, but kudos!

[-]

voloHerentals@reddit

what about his fianceé of 15 yrs and 2 kids at home?! Would you leave them behind for this crap? I mean, maybe who knows, but she was also shocked he disappeared. Until now; Honest? I think they crashed into the Atlantic. No way CIA/FBI and who knows else would not find a trace on land of the persons or the plane. I don't care it's Africa, people dont just disappear like that with a plane Unles the ocean. Look at plane disasters in Recent years, just gone into the ocean, everybody looking, nothing ever found. It can happen for sure.

[-]

Johnny_Lockee@reddit

In my personal opinion, I probably wouldn’t say that either of these men were guilty until proven innocent (they can probably never be proven either guilty or innocent).

Workers at the airport at the time testified that they either saw one individual or two, possibly more than two board the aircraft. We only know that the pilot and mechanic vanished overnight. Most likely they were on the plane but because the two men could also be victims of abduction.

[-]

Fildasaurus@reddit

My dream, except i want to do it legaly.

[-]

BigPurpleBlob@reddit

The guy on the left is Robin Williams ;-)

[-]

thatkindofparty@reddit

Angola was wild back in the day. Used to take the Houstonexpress back and forth for little bit. Good times.

[-]

MirSpaceStation@reddit

Was it Atlas that flew that? I remember they had the ExxonMobil charter about 7 years ago or so

[-]

thatkindofparty@reddit

Yep, Atlas Air but I think Sonangol owned the plane?

[-]

MirSpaceStation@reddit

Whenever I'd see it taxi away id often wondered what it was like there. Was there any evidence of the Russian installations left?

[-]

hey_hey_hey_nike@reddit

People forget the very active tertiary, quartiary and quintary market that existed for 727s in Africa in those days!

[-]

dchap1@reddit

Did anyone check the bottom of the ocean?

[-]

TakePeaksWreckSheets@reddit

Should be easy to find down there!

[-]

KeyboardGunner@reddit

Not yet. But don't worry, I'm working on a carbon fiber submarine.

[-]

dietzenbach67@reddit

14,000 gallons is only around 2,000 pounds. Thats nothing on a 727, not even reserve fuel no where near enough for 1500 miles. 727 would burn north of 9000 pounds per hour.

[-]

The1payne@reddit

14,000 gallons is 93,800 lbs. not sure how you came up with 2k lbs.

[-]

Apprehensive-Head820@reddit

Anyone checked Iran?

[-]

dreamskirting@reddit

Definitely one was Brian Clough

[-]

KnifeNovice789@reddit

That's literally the premise of the book "By order of the President" by W.E.B Griffin. Except it was stolen by a group of Somalian terrorists to crash into the Liberty Bell

[-]

maracle6@reddit

The Liberty Bell? That sounds very difficult...it's like 5 feet high, inside a one story building surrounded by taller buildings in a major city.

[-]

KnifeNovice789@reddit

Well they successfully retook the airplane and killed all the bad guys so I guess they never had to worry about that 🤣

[-]

PastPanic6890@reddit

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I wanted to read the book.

[-]

KnifeNovice789@reddit

Read it and find out 😉

[-]

PastPanic6890@reddit

I'm good, too much buildup already.

[-]

docentmark@reddit

And it’s already broken so it seems a waste of effort.

[-]

SnooBananas37@reddit

Heat of the jet fuel causes it to partially melt and weld the crack back together.

[-]

thepasttenseofdraw@reddit

Oh, you have got to be kidding sir. First you think of an idea that has already been done. Then you target something that nobody could possibly worry about. Didn't you think this through? 9/11 was on the TV for eighteen years! Every magazine cover had... ...most successful terror attack of all time sir!

[-]

bizzyunderscore@reddit

(plane comes tearing in; headed straight for the Liberty Bell) (last moment before impact, time seems to stand still, but you know hell is about to break loose) DING

[-]

MandolinMagi@reddit

Also the US Mint is just down the street, that sounds like a much better target.

[-]

Redfish680@reddit

You think that kind of security is a coincidence?! Lol

[-]

purpleushi@reddit

This just made me have a vivid memory of being in elementary school in the Philly suburbs when 9/11 happened, and we were all convinced that the liberty bell was the next target and we were all going to die. 9-year-old logic isn’t very strong.

[-]

ncoremeister@reddit

I just learned about the liberty Bell because of this How I Met Your Mother Episode. I doubt Somali Terrorist have it on their list

[-]

r1zz000@reddit

So this is not literally the premise of that book then

[-]

JohnTitorsdaughter@reddit

Like a group of Somalian terrorists would even know what the liberty bell is let alone consider it a worthwhile target

[-]

RealisticRobbie@reddit

It was the premise to launch a series for him based in present day.

[-]

dsbtc@reddit

"Now what will they put on their 50 cent coins? Muahahaha!"

[-]

Arcal@reddit

I mean, its already broken...

[-]

Random-Cpl@reddit

Hahah that’s the stupidest plot ever. “Oh no, not our broken bell!!”

[-]

WorkingInAColdMind@reddit

The Liberty Bell? Seriously? What a dumb plot. What’s the point? I’ll bet most Somalians (or most non-Americans) haven’t even heard of the Liberty Bell. I don’t even know if you’re joking and now I’m mad about that plot idea.

[-]

USA_A-OK@reddit

Oh no, not the bell!

[-]

Dry-Marketing-6798@reddit

I am the Captain now

[-]

Zealousideal_Cod6044@reddit

The only way to make a 150,000+ pound aircraft disappear is to sink it. A crash leaves a mark, hiding it just delays the inevitable. Also, I laughed at the article's assertion that the aircraft carried "... over 14,000 gallons of fuel, enough to travel 1500 miles without stopping." The 727-100 (pictured?) carried 7600+ US gallons, giving it a range of almost 2600 miles.

[-]

Poinston@reddit

My guess is that its still flying to this day for random african local airline or transporting diamonds.

[-]

uburoy@reddit

“Submitted for your approval…”, ah, The Twilight Zone by Rod Serling.

Wasn’t there an episode where a plane gets caught in impossible turbulence, and they time travel?

[-]

TheGoldenJ@reddit

Idk but there’s a book about a time/space traveling 737 (iirc) that’s funded by infinite cheese. Some of the details are a bit fuzzy to me as I read it on a wild trip.

Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers by Harry Harrison

[-]

uburoy@reddit

Wow, now THAT is a blast from the past. IIRC Harry Harrison wrote "The Stainless Steel Rat" and that was college reading. He was quite sarcastic.

[-]

0xKaishakunin@reddit

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Odyssey_of_Flight_33

Much better fitting would be this episode: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Arrival_(The_Twilight_Zone)

[-]

uburoy@reddit

Wow, never knew the second one. Shudder! He was such a master story teller, and didn’t need gore, profanity or cgi to get right into your head.

[-]

irascible_Clown@reddit

Man, the gods must be crazy

[-]

Elios000@reddit

or chopped for parts in central Africa

[-]

DrVinylScratch@reddit

Or slammed into a mountain in a jungle or desert where we barely visit.

[-]

specialsymbol@reddit

Such places don't exist anymore. It's either sunk or way more likely scrapped for parts.

[-]

ReputationNo8109@reddit

China stole it to copy it. Or it’s been in service in Russia ever since without maintenance, like the rest of the fleet.

[-]

Corsider@reddit

Stop spreading disinformation lol, fleet in Russia is being maintained like it should be. There were some problems at the beginning, but now the are many ways to import parts. It is nonsense to think that there planes are flying more than 2 years without any service

[-]

ReputationNo8109@reddit

These sources seem to think differently:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/01/16/russia-air-travel-danger-sanctions/

https://archive.md/R5AOZ

https://www.newsweek.com/russia-airlines-sanctions-aeroflot-s7-staff-shortage-1920612

https://www.oliverwyman.com/our-expertise/insights/2023/apr/russias-commercial-aviation-stifled-by-ukraine-sanctions.html

https://www.newsweek.com/russia-planes-aviation-industry-sanctions-1875135

https://www.rferl.org/amp/russia-airliners-sanctions-seized/32699688.html

https://www.eurasiantimes.com/russias-multi-billion-aircraft-plan-falls-prey-to-us-sanctions/amp/

[-]

AmputatorBot@reddit

It looks like you shared some AMP links. These should load faster, but AMP is controversial because of concerns over privacy and the Open Web.

Maybe check out the canonical pages instead:

^(I'm a bot | )^(Why & About)^( | )^(Summon: u/AmputatorBot)

[-]

PlutolsAPlanet@reddit

They do preventive maintenance, but have a hard time doing corrective maintenance. Planes can go years without fails if it's preventive maintained. But if things goes wrong, like circuits goes bad, it's problematic to import new ones

[-]

BAN_MOTORCYCLES@reddit

probably being used by a cartel to transport guns and drugs to dictatorships across the globe

[-]

Spotted_Howl@reddit

I don't think you could keep a 727 running this long without lots of spare parts

[-]

AHrubik@reddit

The tires alone would be dead from use within 4-6 months without replacements.

[-]

Zealousideal_Cod6044@reddit

The more I think on what you said the more I laughed. Because it could be true and we're all just looking in the wrong place. Thanks, made my day.

[-]

the_tired_alligator@reddit

So I’m not saying you’re wrong about it (or it’s pieces) probably being at the bottom of the ocean, but there are aircraft that have been discovered out in the wilderness years after they went missing. Even in places out in the open you’d expect to easily be discovered, if they just don’t get a lot of foot traffic or people paying attention when they fly over it’s possibly for even a crash as big as an airliner to go unnoticed for a while.

[-]

Pallets_Of_Cash@reddit

During the search for Steve Fossett they found eight other crash sites, some for aircraft that had been missing for decades.

A high profile case that garners a serious search effort often finds old crash sites of less important people.

[-]

5cott@reddit

Then years later, when a hiker found his ID and cash it sounded like a hoax.

[-]

GayRacoon69@reddit

I remember seeing a video of a BF-109 being discovered in a forest near a Russian city long after WWII ended. It wasn't hidden or anything. It was just chilling in the woods

[-]

bizzyunderscore@reddit

yeah havent you seen a documentary named "LOST"

[-]

Zealousideal_Cod6044@reddit

I agree, though the state of surveillance would make it difficult to miss unless it came down mostly intact, especially after 21 years. I've been considering the 14,000 gals of fuel mentioned. Had they been able to add the tankage and have it work without completely screwing with the center of gravity and had the plane managed the trip without catastrophic failure, Brazil was in range. That makes me smile.

[-]

Herr_Quattro@reddit

Not a chance in hell, this was only 2 years after 9/11 and when this went missing it sent the US on an extensive manhunt to find this plane because of fears of it being used in a terror attack. Thats why it’s a noteworthy incident, specifically because it couldn’t be found after basically the entire U.S. intelligence network tried to find it.

[-]

747ER@reddit

727-100 (pictured?)

The one in the picture, and in the incident, is a 727-200 :)

[-]

Zealousideal_Cod6044@reddit

Excellent, thank you, so add 3,000 pounds of fuel and another 2-3,000 miles of range.

[-]

__smd@reddit

Maybe someone shot it down, I mean someone shouted “Let’s roll”.

[-]

Intermediate18@reddit

Don't be a investigator please.

[-]

MrMeowPantz@reddit

So they just turned the transponder off and poof. Wild that you can do that from the plane. There isn’t, or I can’t think of a reason, for a pilot to turn off the transponder.

[-]

YouSuckItNow12@reddit

Isolate and electrical fault that could be causing a fire.

Lol think a bit harder.

They can control every system on the aircraft for troubleshooting reasons.

[-]

MrMeowPantz@reddit

I don’t know anything about aviation, so just trying to learn. No reason to be rude.

[-]

YouSuckItNow12@reddit

You think being challenged to think harder is rude?

[-]

robertgentel@reddit

I wasn’t the one you directed it at but it definitely comes across as smug and rude.

[-]

YouSuckItNow12@reddit

You would die if you worked on a construction site for a day

[-]

Aat117@reddit

Tbh it was in Angola where radar service isn't as widespread much easier to dissappear there than in say the US.

[-]

FrogFragger@reddit

Look at that guy in the photo, that plane is clearly in storage in Warehouse 13 somewhere....

[-]

DrVinylScratch@reddit

IDK the reference

[-]

jeaguilar@reddit

Warehouse 13 is “a massive, top-secret storage warehouse that holds every strange artifact, mysterious relic, out-of-this-world object and supernatural souvenir ever found by the U.S. government“

[-]

krizreddit@reddit

I think stealing planes is bad luck

[-]

Schlapstick77@reddit

Have they looked in Venezuela? 🤣

[-]

IWEARYOURCLOTHES@reddit

My first thought was....why is Bill Murray stealing planes?

[-]

TheAndyGeorge@reddit

For the yucks

[-]

DM_TO_TRADE_HIPBONES@reddit

gosh i still love that american livery, I know this post was about something more serious but geez

[-]

Entire_Insect1811@reddit

In my mind, this is the livery I have associated with AA. I was a kid during this time, but my father and I used to build model cars planes together.

[-]

KiloPapa@reddit

The 727 in that livery is peak plane. Of all time.

[-]

J-V1972@reddit

Good read…

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/the-727-that-vanished-2371187/

[-]

Intelligent-Wing-752@reddit

Lol how does this make any sense with all the satellite imaging and tracking systems/tech in the plane?

[-]

SignalRevenue@reddit

I have heard about similar cases, when planes were flown to countries under sanctions prohibiting purchase or lease of Boeing planes.

[-]

EmperorJake@reddit

I read about one where some Airbuses on a ferry flight all happened to make an emergency landing in Tehran, and now they fly for Iran Air

[-]

Met76@reddit

I think it was two A340s and they literally faked an emergency on both and they were like, oh well it's ours now

[-]

iknowfkneverything@reddit

What a load of shit

[-]

TeamSteelDick@reddit

I’m starting to think this doesn’t know anything except how to suck.

[-]

Abject_Film_4414@reddit

Are you saying that they converted it into cargo?

[-]

iknowfkneverything@reddit

Are you saying your mom is a lesbian?

[-]

AutoModerator@reddit

Your post/comment has been automatically removed due to user reports. If you feel the removal was in error contact the mod team. Repeated removal for rule violation will result in a ban.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[-]