1990 Faucett Perú Boeing 727 disappearance

On 11 September 1990, a Faucett Perú Boeing 727 airliner, registered OB-1303, disappeared in an area of the Atlantic Ocean approximately 180 mi southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland, Canada. The aircraft was being ferried back from Malta to Peru after having been leased to Air Malta, and had six crewmembers on board as well as ten passengers consisting of airline employees and their families. The last contact with the crew was a distress message stating that the aircraft had run out of fuel and that they were preparing to ditch. The aircraft was hundreds of miles off course at the time. Nothing more was heard from the flight, and no trace of the aircraft or any of the occupants has since been found.

Background

The aircraft involved was a 21-year-old Boeing 727-247, registered OB-1303, which first flew in 1969. The aircraft had been leased to European carrier Air Malta for the summer season of 1990 by its owner Faucett Perú, and on the day of the disappearance was being ferried back from Malta to Peru at the end of its lease.

On board were six crewmembers and ten passengers consisting of airline employees and their families. The employees included mechanics and other ground crew personnel who had been working in Malta. It is believed an infant was on board and up to four women. All of those on board were Peruvian nationals.

The aircraft was scheduled to make refuelling stops during its journey at London in the United Kingdom (or possibly Milan Malpensa Airport in Italy); Keflavík International Airport in Iceland; Gander International Airport in Newfoundland, Canada; and finally Miami International Airport in the United States before arriving at Lima International Airport in Peru. The aircraft made its first two stops without incident, with the disappearance occurring on the Keflavík-Gander leg.

Incident

At around noon, en route from Malta, the aircraft landed at Keflavík International Airport to refuel. The aircraft received weather information and took on about 20 tonnes of fuel.

Having refuelled at Keflavík, the aircraft left Iceland at 13:16 local time without incident. The flight to Gander was estimated to take around 3 hours and 38 minutes. The flight had requested permission to climb to 28000 ft, first climbing to 24000 ft and 27000 ft. At 14:50, the aircraft left Icelandic air traffic control.

However, the aircraft did not arrive in Gander at its expected arrival time. Thirty minutes after it was due in Gander, at 15:20, two nearby flights, TWA Flight 851 and American Airlines Flight 35, picked up a transmission from the aircraft declaring a low-fuel emergency. The pilots had stated that they were at 10,000 ft and were preparing to ditch the aircraft into the Atlantic Ocean. The message was relayed by the two U.S. aircraft to air traffic control. This was the last message received from the aircraft.

The aircraft's last known location was around 250 mi southeast of the city of St. John's, Newfoundland, and 180 mi southeast of Newfoundland at its nearest point. This suggested that the aircraft had unknowingly strayed off course, since this was far from the planned route to Gander. It is presumed that no one survived the ditching.