A semi truck hauling aircraft parts valued at over $1 million vanished from the Chicago O’Hare airport on Monday, sending police on a search for the parts and the driver.
The big rig and its aircraft parts, including a jet turbine worth $1 million on its own, were stolen on Monday, September 17th from a “secure area” of the Chicago O’Hare airport in Chicago, Illinois.
According to Fox 2 News, the trucking company, PFH Air LLC, initially reported the truck, its cargo, and the driver missing but an executive at the company has since claimed that the missing driver, parts, and tractor trailer have been found, dumbfounding the police who say they have no record of either the driver, truck, or parts being found.
Experts at DePaul University say that the parts could very easily already be out on the black market.
“Global aviation is huge. Parts move around the world. You have developing countries where there is big demand for parts for repair,” said Joe Schwieterman of DePaul University.
“No doubt some of these parts could be traced. They may not be sellable, but there are certain things that could command big bucks… To have the truck leave the scene without trace, so to speak, with parts that may be worth millions of dollars in that truck, really is the remarkable disturbing story on what can happen if we have not proper security of who’s operating the trucks.”
