Mystery Boeing in African skies

2003-06-12 21:27

Wolfram Zwecker

Pretoria - After an intensive search of nearly three weeks, involving satellites and the American intelligence services, there was still no sign on Thursday of the Boeing 727 that has disappeared like a gigantic needle in the African haystack.

Reports from Voice of American (VOA) suggest that the American government has launched a top-secret, intensive search, which even involves satellites.

The plane, a Boeing 727-200, which can carry about 150 passengers, took off from the airport outside Luanda, Angola, on Sunday, May 25.

Reports in the Angolan media claimed that the plane never handed in a flight plan and that it did not have clearance to take off.

Meanwhile, America has requested South Africa via Interpol to assist with the search for the missing plane.

Trevor Abrahams, commissioner of the Civil Aviation Authority, said he suspects that the plane might be somewhere in Western Africa and that it could possibly be used for "criminal activities".

Terrorism

ABC news.com reports that America is concerned that the plane might be used for acts of terrorism.

It is improbable that the plane could fly to America, but it could be used to attack American interests in Africa.

VOA says the plane had been standing at the airport in Angola for the past year, after its owners could not pay about $4m (about R30m) in debt to the airport authorities.

The American Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) said the plane was built in 1975 and sold to American Airlines. It was then sold to a company in Miami that no longer operates.

It is not known how the plane ended up in Africa, but it was allegedly used to transport diesel to remote mines in Angola.

American officials say there are rumours that the plane now belongs to an American living in South Africa.

Initial reports after the disappearance suggested that the plane belonged to Air Angola, which is owned by current and former Angolan military officers.

VOA reported on Thursday that an American government source suggested that the plane requested to land in the Seychelles at one stage, but that it never landed there.

- Beeld