Beechcraft Information
From the experts (an airplane dealer that posted on the ABC Site) … the plane in question was a Beechcraft C-45 Expeditor. The plane was in production between 1936 and 1969. Most are configured for 6 passengers.
The range on the plane is approximately 1200 miles. Assuming that it did not refuel here is a map that shows the approximate distance the plane could travel Click Here
Of course, if you factor in the possibility that the plane would gas up along the way then you are bound only by making sure that you never strayed further than 1200 miles from an airport.
Long and short of it … if the plane left Nigeria carrying drugs then it had to stop multiple times in order to reach somewhere in the South Pacific. Of course, I don’t believe that it was actually headed to the South Pacific from Nigeria but that’s a story for another day …
BTW - why in the world did they keep the dead priest in the plane for such a long trip. To me that seems like excess cargo. Why not drop it out over some jungle or large water area?
