Two U.S. Pilots CAPTURED During Flight Mission – Beg Trump for Help

Two American pilots languish in a West African prison after a routine fuel stop spiraled into an armed military confrontation, exposing the dangerous gap between international aviation clearances and the arbitrary enforcement powers of unstable regimes.

Quick Take

Fabio Espinal Nunez and Brad Schlenker were detained December 30, 2025, at Conakry airport after landing with claimed air traffic control clearance during a fuel stop on a Gulfstream IV charter flight
Guinean military forces, numbering approximately 100 soldiers, confronted the aircraft and arrested both pilots, claiming unauthorized landing and sovereignty violations despite no security threats
After six weeks in overcrowded Conakry prison with dirt floors and shared sleeping quarters, courts approved bail but military authorities blocked their release
Families have made direct appeals to President Trump and U.S. officials while the State Department confirms consular visits but maintains it cannot intervene in judicial matters
The case exposes systemic risks in international business aviation where layered approval systems clash with post-coup military regimes wielding unchecked detention authority

The Clearance That Wasn’t Enough

On December 30, 2025, pilot Brad Schlenker and copilot Fabio Espinal Nunez executed what should have been an unremarkable operational procedure: requesting landing clearance at Ahmed Sékou Touré International Airport in Conakry, Guinea, for a fuel stop. Flight plans were filed. Air traffic control granted clearance multiple times, according to the pilots. A local handler was arranged to coordinate ground operations. The Gulfstream IV, carrying a Brazilian family from Suriname bound for Dubai, descended toward the runway. Then everything collapsed.

What the pilots allegedly did not possess was a specific landing permit—a document they believed their local handler had secured. Whether this represented a genuine paperwork failure, a miscommunication between handler and authorities, or a deliberate enforcement trap remains unclear. What is certain is that approximately 100 armed soldiers met the aircraft on the tarmac. Military forces, not civil aviation authorities, took control of the situation. The pilots were detained immediately. No security threat existed. No contraband was found. The only violation, according to Guinean officials, was unauthorized landing and national sovereignty breach.

Six Weeks Behind Bars in a Junta State

The pilots spent their first ten days at a police station before being transferred to Conakry’s central prison system in early January. Conditions deteriorated rapidly. Overcrowding defines the facility—dirt floors, shared sleeping areas, inadequate sanitation. Family members began sending food and supplies because prison rations proved insufficient. Daily phone calls with relatives became a lifeline, one of the few advantages afforded to American citizens in Guinea’s detention system.

By mid-January, families went public with their pleas. Lauren Stevenson, Schlenker’s fiancée, and Jon Schlenker, his brother, launched public campaigns for intervention. The U.S. Embassy in Conakry initiated consular visits and provided lists of attorneys, but officials made clear they could not interfere with judicial processes. Meanwhile, the pilots’ legal team escalated appeals through Guinean courts, including to the Supreme Court. In early February, reports emerged that an appellate court had approved bail and ordered release. The military blocked it. No explanation was offered. No legal authority was cited.

The Structural Vulnerability of Business Aviation

This case illuminates a systemic vulnerability in international business aviation. Charter operations depend on multiple layers of approval: flight plans filed with originating countries, air traffic control clearance en route, landing permits from destination nations, and coordination through local handlers. In stable democracies with transparent regulatory systems, these layers provide redundancy and accountability. In post-coup military states like Guinea, they create confusion and opportunity for arbitrary enforcement.

Guinea has operated under military rule since a 2021 coup. Human Rights Watch documents patterns of arbitrary detention, weak judicial oversight, and security force opacity. The U.S. State Department maintains travel warnings citing unrest and unpredictable judicial processes. Into this environment flew two American pilots following procedures they believed were authorized. The military’s override of civil aviation authorities and court orders suggests that in Guinea, clearance documents matter less than military discretion.

A Diplomatic Standoff Without Resolution

Schlenker’s direct appeal to President Trump on CBS News—calling the situation “absolute madness”—reflects family desperation and frustration with consular-level responses. The State Department confirms awareness and engagement but maintains constitutional limits on intervention in foreign judicial systems. Trump administration officials have not publicly committed to escalation beyond standard diplomatic channels. Meanwhile, the pilots remain imprisoned on charges of unauthorized landing, facing potential sentences of up to twenty years under Guinean law.

The broader implications extend beyond these two men. Business aviation operators now face a cautionary precedent: clearance from air traffic control may not protect against military override in unstable regions. Handler coordination may prove worthless if military authorities choose to assert sovereignty retroactively. The case tests whether American citizenship and diplomatic engagement provide meaningful protection when a regime prioritizes military authority over judicial process and international aviation norms.

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Six weeks into detention, with court-approved release blocked by military force, Espinal Nunez and Schlenker remain trapped in a system where the rules changed after they landed. Their families continue pleading for intervention. The pilots wait in a Conakry prison, hoping that diplomatic pressure or legal persistence will accomplish what Guinean courts could not: their freedom.