
The 727 that Vanished - mjfern
http://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/The-727-that-Vanished.html
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ryanwaggoner
If a non-pilot and a private pilot took off in a 727 (that had recently been
"repaired") from Angola and were last seen flying over the ocean, it's not
terribly difficult to understand _exactly_ what happened: they crashed into
the ocean.

~~~
gaius
That's not really the mystery, tho': rather _why_ they suddenly decided to go
ahead with that plan, given that it was obviously reckless. And if anyone else
was onboard.

As an aside, it's fascinating that the economics of diamond mining are such
that you fly fuel to the mines.

~~~
pmjordan
_As an aside, it's fascinating that the economics of diamond mining are such
that you fly fuel to the mines._

They tend to be in the middle of the desert or other rough terrain, and the
distances are enormous. In many cases there aren't any public roads they can
(reliably) use for heavy freight, and maintaining their own would be costly.
Staff are flown in anyway, so they already maintain regularly used airfields.
(my dad used to be an engineer working at various African diamond mines, and
my first cousin once removed still consults for them after retiring)

~~~
electromagnetic
This isn't an Africa-only thing either. The Canadian diamond mines routinely
fly staff in and out, and on occasion materials too. However, the Canadian
mines have the somewhat luxury of being accessible by ice roads for a portion
of the year.

Desert doesn't suddenly become hard enough to support a tractor-trailer, but
water does.

------
iuguy
Maybe the plane was...

L O S T

(sorry, couldn't resist)

------
prosa
Come to think of it, the survivors are probably stuck on an island, lost in
time. Someday they will be saved, and will return to society. This will seem
like a cherished moment, but they will soon come to realize that they truly
belong back on the island. When they return, it will come to light that they
were really dead all along. We will all proceed to watch the next soapy
primetime drama.

