From
Air
& Space
 |
| The Boeing 727, tail number 844AA |
On May 25, 2003, shortly before sunset, Ben Charles
Padilla, a certified flight engineer, aircraft mechanic, and private pilot, boarded
Florida-based Aerospace Sales and Leasing’s Boeing 727-223, tail number N844AA.The location was Quatro de Fevereiro
International Airport in Angola.With him was a helper he had recently hired, John Mikel Mutantu, from the
Republic of the Congo. The two had been working with Angolan mechanics to return
the 727 to flight-ready status so they could reclaim it from a business deal
gone bad, but neither could fly it. Mutantu was not a pilot, and Padilla had
only a private pilot’s license. A 727 ordinarily requires three trained
aircrew.
