Long before MH370, a plane with two men vanished without a trace: Here's all about the dissapearance of Boeing 727 N844AA

Years before Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished, another plane disappeared in 2003—without a trace. On May 25 that year, a Boeing 727-223, registered N844AA, was stolen from Quatro de Fevereiro Airport in Luanda, Angola. The aircraft, once operated by American Airlines, had been grounded for over a year, reportedly due to ownership disputes, unpaid fees of around $4 million, and questions over its conversion from passenger to cargo plane.

That evening, two men—Ben C. Padilla, an American flight engineer and mechanic, and John M. Mutantu, a Congolese mechanic—are believed to have boarded the aircraft. Neither was qualified to fly a 727, which typically requires three trained crew members. Still, the aircraft began taxiing without clearance or communication with the control tower. With its transponder off and lights out, it took off heading southwest over the Atlantic Ocean—and vanished.

N844AA was carrying over 14,000 gallons of fuel, giving it a 1,500-mile range, but no debris or sign of the plane or men has ever been found. The U.S. intelligence community, including the FBI and CIA, launched investigations, but the trail quickly went cold.


Initially, many conspiracy theories were floated regarding the disappearance of the plane. Some suspect it was stolen for illicit cargo runs involving arms or drugs. Others believe it could have been part of an insurance fraud scheme. In the post-9/11 climate, there were initial fears it might be used in a terror attack, though none materialized. More far-fetched ideas suggest government cover-ups or even extraterrestrial involvement.


According to Discovery, the simplest explanation remains that the plane crashed—either into the ocean or a remote part of Africa—its wreckage never located due to poor tracking and vast unmonitored terrain. A supposed sighting in Guinea weeks later was quickly ruled out.

Over two decades later, the fate of N844AA remains one of aviation’s great unsolved mysteries, eclipsed only by the disappearance of MH370.