Case Details
- Photo URLs:
-
- Missing Since:
- Missing Since 05/25/2003
- Missing From:
- Missing From Luanda, Angola
- Classification:
- Classification Endangered Missing
- Gender:
- Male
- Race:
- Race White
- Date of Birth:
- Age:
- Age 50 years old
- Height and Weight:
- Height and Weight 6’2, unknown weight
- Clothing/Jewelry Description:
- Distinguishing Characteristics:
- Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown hair, brown eyes.
- Details of Disappearance:
- In 2003, American mechanic and pilot, James Padilla, was working in Angola on a Boeing 727. He was supervising repairs for the plane’s owner, Aerospace Sales & Leasing Co., who planned to take it to South Africa. Padilla, who was experienced with smaller planes but not 727s, was going to be the flight engineer.
Two weeks before his disappearance, the company president gave Padilla $43,000 to pay airport fees, which he did. Then, on May 25th, the 727 took off without permission, carrying 14,000 gallons of fuel. Padilla vanished at the same time and is believed to have been on board, along with another crew member, John Mikel Mutantu.
The plane, a distinctive silver and blue 727, was last heard from requesting landing permission in the Seychelles islands, but it never landed there. It might have been heading towards Burkina Faso initially.
Padilla’s brother suspects a hijacking, possibly by terrorists, a fear Padilla had shared with him. The plane’s owner agrees, believing Padilla wouldn’t have stolen the plane himself. However, the owner has a history of financial wrongdoing, leading American authorities to suspect a possible financial crime or business dispute was involved.
The FBI, CIA, and NSA, along with the UK and several African countries, searched for the plane and the missing men. A plane found in Papua New Guinea was initially thought to be the missing 727, but this turned out to be false. The case remains unsolved. The Charley Project is highlighting Padilla’s disappearance due to his US citizenship.
- Agency:
- Federal Bureau of Investigation 202-324-3000
- Source Links:
This person was missing Missing Since 05/25/2003