Ben Charles Padilla

Ben Charles Padilla (born 1952 in Pensacola, Florida) is a small airplane pilot, and a jet airplane mechanic, who was lost on May 25 of 2003 in the African country of Angola. Ben Charles Padilla. ... Ben Charles Padilla. ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Nickname: The City of Five Flags Official website: http://www. ... Fixed-wing aircraft is a term used to refer to what are more commonly known as aeroplanes in Commonwealth English (excluding Canada) or airplanes in North American English. ... Jet aircraft are aircraft with jet engines. ... May 25 is the 145th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (146th in leap years). ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A satellite composite image of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia. ...

Padilla was in Angola because an airplane leasing company had sent him there to participate as an in-flight mechanic during a ferry flight of a Boeing 727 airplane to the company's headquarters. The airplane took off without permission from DeFevereiro International Airport, in Luanda, and Padilla has not been seen since. His disappearance sparked many rumors, most of them tying it with terrorism. It also caused a world-wide search by both the FBI and the CIA. Padilla is not believed to have had any previous contacts with the people who flew the airplane off. Sun Country Airlines B727-200 The Boeing 727 is a large, single-aisle (narrow-body) commercial jet airliner carrying as many as 189 passengers. ... Map of Angola Luanda (formerly called Loanda) is the largest city and capital of Angola. ... The term terrorism is largely synonymous with political violence or the threat of violence, and refers to a strategy of using coordinated attacks that typically fall within the time, manner of conduct, and place commonly understood as unconventional warfare. ... The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a Federal police force which is the principal investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ... The CIA Seal The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an American intelligence agency, responsible for obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals, and reporting such information to the various branches of the U.S. Government. ...

On January 6, 2004, his siblings declared on television that they have received several calls from around the world offering tips to the whereabouts of the jet-liner, which used to fly for American Airlines with the registration N844AA, one of them placing it in Lebanon. However, none of the calls have disclosed sightings of Padilla himself. January 6 is the 6th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... It has been designated the: International Year of Rice (by the United Nations) International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO) 2004 World Health Day topic was Road Safety (by World Health Organization) Year of the Monkey (by the Chinese calendar) See the world in... American Airlines and American Eagle aircraft at San Juan American Airlines is the largest airline in the world in terms of total passengers transported, and the second-largest airline in the world (behind Air France-KLM) in terms of total operating revenues. ...

After the crash of UTA Flight 141, on December 25 of 2003, rumors spread that the jet-liner used for that flight could in fact, be the airplane that Padilla was supposed to be flying in when his (and the plane's) mysterious disappearance occurred. The rumor turned out to be unfounded. UTA Flight 141 was a charter flight operated by Union des Transports Aériens de Guinée. ... December 25 is the 359th day of the year (360th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 6 days remaining. ...

The aircraft was seen to be swaying from side to side down the taxiways and indeed along the runway as the aircraft took off, this led to theories - after it was reported a black cleaner had been seen to board (but not deboarding) - that Padilla was struggling with this man for control over the aircraft and eventually he was overpowered.

This incident appears to be part of the inspiration/background for the novel 'By Order of the President' (C) 2004 by W.E.B. Griffin, in which a Boeing 727 plane is stolen from the same airport in Luanda on 25 May 2005 with also one crew aboard who ultimately went missing. W.E.B. Griffin (born William Edmund Butterworth III on November 10, 1929) is a writer of military and detective fiction with some thirty novels in five series published under that name. ... Sun Country Airlines B727-200 The Boeing 727 is a large, single-aisle (narrow-body) commercial jet airliner carrying as many as 189 passengers. ...

=External link

http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/seekinfo/padilla.htm