Once upon a time, Aerolíneas Argentinas had a seemingly haunted Boeing 747-200. Onboard the aircraft wandered the lost soul of a deceased flight attendant that absolutely loved working for the company and on this particular plane, registration LV-MLO.

Aerolíneas Argentinas 747 fleet

Throughout its history, Aerolíneas Argentinas had several Boeing 747 aircraft that allowed the State carrier to serve long-haul routes from Buenos Aires. According to ch-aviation, Aerolíneas had nine B747-200 and three B747-400 at different points in its history.

Several Latin American carriers had 747 fleets in the past, including Varig, Avianca, and Aerolíneas Argentinas. The Argentinian State carrier was the first to receive the Queen of the Skies in the region, back in 1976, during the golden years for the company.

While Aerolíneas Argentinas wasn’t Latin America’s leading B747 operator (that honor belongs to Brazil’s Varig), the 747 definitely became iconic with Aerolíneas history. Nonetheless, Aerolíneas permanently retired its 747 fleet in 2012.

One of its first 747s, though, was supposedly haunted. We are talking about LV-MLO, better known as MALO (a Spanish word meaning bad). But why was there such a belief in the first place?

Aerolíneas Argentinas retired LV-MLO in 2001. Photo: Steve Knight via Flickr.

The history of LV-MLO

The aircraft was first ordered by Aerolíneas Argentinas on June 29, 1978, and had its first flight that same year, on December 8. Aerolíneas took possession of the aircraft on January 13, 1979.

The aircraft had two separate stints with Aerolíneas, the first one between 1979 and 1983. That year, Flying Tigers took possession of the plane, according to Aviacionline. Aerolíneas Argentinas retook the 747 in 1990 and flew with it until its retirement in 2001.  Its last flight ever was between Buenos Aires and Madrid.

According to ch-aviation, LV-MLO had nearly 80,000 flight hours, completing 16,798 cycles throughout its life. But why was it haunted?

Aerolíneas had several Boeing 747 throughout its history. Photo: Getty Images.

A flight attendant and our Lady of Luján

LV-MLO would not have been haunted if it wasn’t for the date it was “born.” The aircraft had its first flight on December 8, which is also the date of our Lady of Luján, Patroness of Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay.

A particularly religious Aerolíneas Argentinas flight attendant had a deep attachment to the aircraft due to its first flight date. The attachment was so strong that when the flight attendant learned she was dying from a terminal disease, she asked the company to fly exclusively on the LV-MLO during its last month of work.

According to the information posted by Argentinian pilots, the flight attendant died a few hours after having worked onboard LV-MLO. After that, the aircraft became haunted.

A few months later, while on maintenance, a group of technicians saw a shady ghost-like figure on the aircraft’s belly.

On a different day, a cleaning employee heard unexplained noises and saw a human-like figure standing in the hallway and wearing a flight attendant uniform. The legend was born shortly after.

There were two more paranormal stories regarding LV-MLO and the flight attendant. One happened in Madrid. In the year 2000, a couple of Air Plus technicians working on the aircraft fled after feeling the “presence” of something onboard the plane with them.

The final story happened after Aerolíneas Argentinas retired the Boeing 747. Air Plus decided to disassemble the 747’s engines and take them to Spain, but, while trying to do so, the technicians heard loud noises onboard the aircraft but found nobody. On investigation, they saw a figure walking through the aircraft's aisles. In 2015, the aircraft was finally scrapped.

Have you heard the story of Aerolíneas Argentinas’ haunted Boeing 747 before? Do you know more paranormal aviation stories? Let us know in the comments below.