1990 Faucett Perú Boeing 727 disappearance

On 11 September 1990, a Boeing 727-247 owned by Faucett Perú and registered OB-1303 disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean approximately 180 miles southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland, Canada. The 21-year-old aircraft, which had first flown in 1969, was being ferried back to Peru after completing a summer lease to Air Malta. On board were six crewmembers and ten passengers, described as airline employees—including mechanics and other ground crew who had worked in Malta—and their families, believed to include an infant and up to four women. All occupants were Peruvian nationals.

The aircraft's planned route home included refuelling stops in London or Milan, Keflavík (Iceland), Gander (Newfoundland, Canada), and Miami before reaching Lima. The first legs were completed without incident. After refuelling at Keflavík International Airport around noon and departing at 13:16 local time, the flight was expected to reach Gander in roughly three hours and thirty-eight minutes. It left Icelandic air traffic control airspace at 14:50. The aircraft never arrived in Gander. At 15:20, about thirty minutes after its expected arrival, two nearby airliners—TWA Flight 851 and American Airlines Flight 35—picked up a transmission from the crew declaring a low-fuel emergency and stating they were preparing to ditch at 10,000 feet. This was the last communication received from the flight. Its last known position, far off the planned route, was roughly 250 miles southeast of St. John's, Newfoundland.

A multi-agency search was launched by the Canadian Armed Forces, involving CP-140 Aurora aircraft, CH-113 Labrador helicopters, Canadian Coast Guard vessels, fisheries patrol vessels, and naval destroyers. A weak signal, possibly from an emergency transmitter, was reportedly detected by satellite, but its source could not be pinpointed. In January 1991, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board reported the aircraft had not been equipped with an emergency locator transmitter that would have activated on impact. Weather and sea conditions at the time were reported as good, and officials believed the aircraft could have floated after ditching, but no trace of the plane, its occupants, or debris was ever located; officials attributed the difficulty partly to the aircraft's white colour.

In the aftermath, the reported number of people on board changed multiple times—from an initial 18, to 15 (after Faucett officials believed three had disembarked in Iceland), with records later indicating 16 total occupants. Transport Canada and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada stated the aircraft had been off course and believed it had ditched, though the reason for the deviation was never established. A Peruvian government investigation was reported as ongoing as of January 1991, with outcomes unknown; one later report attributed the accident to poor pilot planning. Faucett Perú ceased operations in 1997 following financial difficulties. The case briefly drew renewed public attention following the 2014 disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.