9 Bizarre Aircraft Disappearances
- 6 years ago
Every now and again, planes go missing or vanish without a trace, leaving almost nothing behind to give investigators clues about their disappearances. Here are few of the most chilling tales surrounding the most bizarre airplane mysteries in our history.\r
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3. Boeing 727-223\r
In 2003 Angola mechanics and a commissioned engineer, Benjamin Charles Padilla and his assistant John Mutantu, were working on preparing this unused plane for use by IRS Airlines. This is where the mystery begins. The two were working on the plane alone while it was situated on the tarmac when Benjamin was seen entering the plane. The aircraft began making its way down the runway, without getting permission for takeoff or making any communication to air traffic controllers. The movement of the plane has been described as erratic as it made its takeoff, suggesting someone was at the controls who had no idea how to pilot a plane like this. The real mystery of its takeoff is that Padilla had only a private pilots license, meaning he was wholly unequipped to pilot the large aircraft, and could probably not have even gotten it in the air successfully. His assistant, who may have followed him onto the plane, was never trained as a pilot at all. Furthermore, a plane of this magnitude takes at least 3 people to pilot successfully, suggesting there must have been other people aboard the plane waiting for a chance to steal the aircraft. The plane took off and launched a CIA and FBI investigation into its whereabouts. The plane and the two men, Padilla and Mutantu, were never found despite a long and involved investigation by the United States government.\r
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2. BSAA Avro Lancastrian “Stardust”\r
This plane took off on the morning of August 2, 1947 from Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was scheduled to land in Santiago, but the plane never made it to its destination. The plane, carrying just 11 people (five crewmen and six passengers), was seemingly just minutes away from touching down at the airport in Santiago when they sent their last message. The message was sent by the pilot through Morse code and said “ETA Santiago 17.45 hours. STENDEC.” When the operator received the message, he asked for a second transmission, not knowing what the last word was supposed to mean. The pilot obliged and sent the word STENDEC twice in quick succession. After that, the plane was never heard from again and was lost for 53 years until the plane was finally discovered on a glacier in the Andes in 2000 by two backpackers. The planes crash is theorized to have been caused by a jetstream, but some oppose this theory, saying the pilot would never have tried to descend if he did not have a clear visual of his landing. So, if it wasnt a jetstream, what did cause the crash? And the biggest mystery, what did the pilot mean by STENDEC? The operator did not recognize it as an anagram and it has been undecipherable since.\r
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1. Malaysia Airlines Flight MH 370\r
In new, the world came together to mourn the loss of 239 passengers on the Malaysia Airline flight that puzzled everyone when it disappeared somewhere above the Indian Ocean. The plane departed the morning of March 8, new from Kuala Lumpur International Airport and was scheduled to arrive in Beijing, China just six hours later. An hour after take-off, communications were lost, but there were no distress signals sent beforehand. At around 1:30 in the morning, the last spoken message was received. The pilot or co-pilot had said, “Good night Malaysian three-seven-zero.” One hour later, the plane was seen on radar for the last time. The plane never landed in Beijing and no communications or radar sightings were made. The began immediately and would eventually cover nearly 3 million square miles (thats nearly 1.5% of the entire Earths surface). Evidence suggests the plane continues flying for nearly 6 hours after communications were lost and that the jet had abruptly changed course, hinting a passenger may have taken control of the plane. Evidence also shows there was one unaccounted for passenger on the plane: there were 239 passengers, including crew, when there should have only been 238. Over the past three years, debris from the plane has been found but there are no answers to why it went down or what happened to the still missing passengers.
\r
Subscribe to Talltanic \r
\r
3. Boeing 727-223\r
In 2003 Angola mechanics and a commissioned engineer, Benjamin Charles Padilla and his assistant John Mutantu, were working on preparing this unused plane for use by IRS Airlines. This is where the mystery begins. The two were working on the plane alone while it was situated on the tarmac when Benjamin was seen entering the plane. The aircraft began making its way down the runway, without getting permission for takeoff or making any communication to air traffic controllers. The movement of the plane has been described as erratic as it made its takeoff, suggesting someone was at the controls who had no idea how to pilot a plane like this. The real mystery of its takeoff is that Padilla had only a private pilots license, meaning he was wholly unequipped to pilot the large aircraft, and could probably not have even gotten it in the air successfully. His assistant, who may have followed him onto the plane, was never trained as a pilot at all. Furthermore, a plane of this magnitude takes at least 3 people to pilot successfully, suggesting there must have been other people aboard the plane waiting for a chance to steal the aircraft. The plane took off and launched a CIA and FBI investigation into its whereabouts. The plane and the two men, Padilla and Mutantu, were never found despite a long and involved investigation by the United States government.\r
\r
\r
2. BSAA Avro Lancastrian “Stardust”\r
This plane took off on the morning of August 2, 1947 from Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was scheduled to land in Santiago, but the plane never made it to its destination. The plane, carrying just 11 people (five crewmen and six passengers), was seemingly just minutes away from touching down at the airport in Santiago when they sent their last message. The message was sent by the pilot through Morse code and said “ETA Santiago 17.45 hours. STENDEC.” When the operator received the message, he asked for a second transmission, not knowing what the last word was supposed to mean. The pilot obliged and sent the word STENDEC twice in quick succession. After that, the plane was never heard from again and was lost for 53 years until the plane was finally discovered on a glacier in the Andes in 2000 by two backpackers. The planes crash is theorized to have been caused by a jetstream, but some oppose this theory, saying the pilot would never have tried to descend if he did not have a clear visual of his landing. So, if it wasnt a jetstream, what did cause the crash? And the biggest mystery, what did the pilot mean by STENDEC? The operator did not recognize it as an anagram and it has been undecipherable since.\r
\r
\r
1. Malaysia Airlines Flight MH 370\r
In new, the world came together to mourn the loss of 239 passengers on the Malaysia Airline flight that puzzled everyone when it disappeared somewhere above the Indian Ocean. The plane departed the morning of March 8, new from Kuala Lumpur International Airport and was scheduled to arrive in Beijing, China just six hours later. An hour after take-off, communications were lost, but there were no distress signals sent beforehand. At around 1:30 in the morning, the last spoken message was received. The pilot or co-pilot had said, “Good night Malaysian three-seven-zero.” One hour later, the plane was seen on radar for the last time. The plane never landed in Beijing and no communications or radar sightings were made. The began immediately and would eventually cover nearly 3 million square miles (thats nearly 1.5% of the entire Earths surface). Evidence suggests the plane continues flying for nearly 6 hours after communications were lost and that the jet had abruptly changed course, hinting a passenger may have taken control of the plane. Evidence also shows there was one unaccounted for passenger on the plane: there were 239 passengers, including crew, when there should have only been 238. Over the past three years, debris from the plane has been found but there are no answers to why it went down or what happened to the still missing passengers.