Cool story! Just one thing though... a 707 is not a "jumbo jet."

That designation is reserved for 747s, and sometimes extended to other wide-body planes.. but never to an old 707.

PS

This could be the subject of a grweat action movie.

... the writer speaks of "the engine" in an MD-81. All MD-80 series jets have TWO engines.

Also, for what it's worth, the plane was originally designed, built, and marketed by McDonnell Douglas, not by Boeing, so calling it a "Boeing MD-81" is anathema to most of us. But technically it's correct, since Boeing acquired McDD some years back.

-- PS

Great stuff! I smell a reality TV series...

even begin to list it all. Yeah right, is my response. Of course the "journalist" who wrote this checked all the my dick is bigger.. bull in this story before he inflicted it on us, right?

If airport security is this bad, it's pretty much proof positive that Al Qaida is a myth.

This is all we need, another General Smedley Butler only without the morals.

PLATE OF SHRIMP!!!

I'm reeling from the testosterone-fest. But sadly, there is probably enough truth in it to make the dullness of our ordinary lives stand out in start contrast. Anyway, as a guy with no car, let alone a Gulfstream, it's nice to know that someone is doing the dirty work of recovering dead-beat millionaires' toys. Bravo.

"So much macho bullshit in this article I won't even begin to list it all"

The article is six flavors of awesome. Your response makes you sound small, weak, and envious.

Great article. I second the vote for a movie of this!

Just stone cold epic.

Hang around aviation long enough, you meet guys like this. They're every bit as tough and as ballsy as they need to be. If you don't believe they exist, well, you probably don't get out much.

Great article.

Bruce Willis plays Popovich. Opening scene establishes his line of work. A tense heist of a jumbo jet in Milan. After some comic relief with bumbling security guards, our man gets away. Then Bruce gets the call. One of his repomen played by Steve Buscemi has gone rogue. Started stealing his own planes. It's up to Popovich to get them back. The master vs. the protege in a game of cat and mouse. Romantic interest subplot involving Popovich's wife, for whom Buscemi once pined.

...and I can say with authority that, in the absence of a bleached-blond mullet, ubiquitous wraparound shades, and a dream-catcher tattoo on his bicep, this man's claims to be who he says he is are highly suspect.

"...the plane was originally designed, built, and marketed by McDonnell Douglas, not by Boeing, so calling it a "Boeing MD-81" is anathema to most of us."

-- Patrick Smith

By "most of us," you are referring to...who?

Lear Jet Repo Man...WHO CARES?

As someone who couldn't get away with stealing a cup of coffee out of a hotel lobby, I'm having a hard time grasping how he pulls off these things. With the 747s, couldn't the deadbeats just park a couple of trucks around the plane? Tell the control tower, "Nobody but me flies that baby" and back it up with a couple of crisp C-notes? Or, I dunno, put steering-wheel locks on the control yokes?

How do they even get IN a 747? The door's a few dozen feet off the ground.

I'm not arguing that he's successful, I'm just having difficulty grasping the nitty-gritty mechanics of Very Large Airplane Theft. Patrick! How would YOU steal an Airbus A380 from a playboy oil baron who's down on his luck? And who would you call for the book/movie deal afterward?

@BigPaulie:

"By 'most of us,' you are referring to...who?"

Mr. Smith means pilots and others who are involved in aviation, I'd imagine, since he's an inter-continental airline pilot. By the way, and I'm sorry to be picky myself, but your question should ask "to whom" rather to "to who", since it's the object of the preposition "to".

I'd agree that the security implications of this piece are troubling. The story mentions paperwork being handed over, but how hard would be it be to fake such things? I'm not generally one to become paranoid about security, but I don't like the idea of someone being able to palm an airliner with documents that could have been produced by Adobe Acrobat.

@Patrick Smith:

I saw you quoted in an AP story about AF 447. I was glad to see you quoted.

PLATE OF SHRIMP!!!

That's weird, I was just thinking about that.

for a guy tooting his own horn he sure is blowing hard.

But I would be careful about putting too much faith in the rule that "the guy who tells you he will shoot you, will not shoot you". After all, you only need to be wrong once, and there are lots and lots of very angry people out there.

...or considering the wealth of material a TV show.

This is, without a doubt, one of the most interesting articles I've ever read in Salon or any other publication. I've watched the shows on cable about repo guys taking cars and thought, "Now these guys have balls of steel", but Popovich and his crew must have balls of titanium. Well done.

@ KitchenGirl - Yes!

@ bluefellow - Ha! Well played.

@ anyone who thinks Salon shouldn't publish articles like this, please look at the Salon Fact Sheet. Here is the first line:

"Salon, the award-winning online news and entertainment Web site, combines original investigative stories, breaking news, provocative personal essays and highly respected criticism along with popular staff-written blogs about politics, technology and culture."

Salon is indeed intended to entertain.

I've watched the shows on cable about repo guys taking cars and thought, "Now these guys have balls of steel", but Popovich and his crew must have balls of titanium. Well done.

-- TruthSleuth

There is a correlation between the alloys that go into creating a set of hairy balls and the amount of money to be acquired.

Something tells me Popovich's balls are made of the same dense matter found in the gonads of the broken wealthy he feeds on.

He's a useful, but specialized parasite living high on fools of fortune.

Ah, but how this enlivens those who envy class.