But the aircraft decomissioning process has to be properly managed in order to prevent environmental and flight safety-related risks, according to the IATA.Ī similar estimation has been made by the UK-based aerospace strategy consultancy NAVEO, which projects that with an average yearly fleet retirement rate varying between 1.7% and 3.4%, at least 11,000 passenger and cargo planes will be officially retired from service over the next ten years. However, it takes up to 30 years for the plane to reach that particular amount of takeoff and landing cycles.Īccording to the IATA, the global pandemic has prompted airlines worldwide to bring forward early retirement programs of older and less efficient planes, especially wide-body passenger aircraft. Many major aerospace manufacturers, including Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier, Dassault, Embraer and Gulfstream, usually measure the life expectancy of a plane based on various indicators, including performed takeoff and landing cycles, flight hours, flight frequency and maintenance hours.įor instance, regardless of the actual age of the plane, an Airbus A320 narrow-body aircraft can endure up to 60,000 cycles, while a Boeing 747 wide-body plane performes around 35,000 cycles, or up to 165,000 of flight hours, before its retirement. And, even though age seems like a compelling way to define whether an aircraft remains suitable for flying, it is not the most accurate index. Unlike cars, the lifespan of an aircraft is not determined by the distance flown during the years of active operations. When does an aircraft become too old to fly? But where do these planes go after retirement? AeroTime investigates the afterlife of a retired aircraft. Meanwhile, up to 700 jets each year are getting closer to the end of their lifespan. The place where jumbo jets go to die.Around 16,000 commercial passenger and cargo aircraft have been retired worldwide in the past 35 years.
SCRAP BOEING 747 COCKPIT REGISTRATION
However, even if Boeing does buy it back, there is little interest in such a large aircraft right now for commercial purposes, since the international health crisis sealed the fate of the 747 as a commercial plane.Īt the 3.16-minute mark, the Boeing 747-8 registration number N458BJ takes off from Basel, Switzerland, destination Pinal Airpark. There is a chance that it might be repurposed if Boeing buys it back, and the move to the U.S.
The same media outlet notes that N458BJ is probably scheduled for part-out, which means it will be disassembled and sold piece by piece. Pinal Airpark is a single-runway airfield outside of Tucson, Arizona, which also happens to be one of the most famous aircraft graveyards in the world and, because of it, home of some of the most iconic flying machines ever. The video below shows the final takeoff of this brand-new, majestic aircraft that never got put to proper usage, but which is believed to have cost over $300 million. Last week, the 2012 Boeing took off for what will most likely become its final flight, arriving at the Pinal Airpark in the Marana desert 11 hours later. N458BJ only ever clocked 42 hours of flight time, which, according to Simple Flying, is what a commercial airline totals in a matter of days and a private jet in weeks – and they consisted mostly of test flights.
SCRAP BOEING 747 COCKPIT FULL
The Sultan passed away before the customization was complete, so the jumbo jet was abandoned – and seemingly forgotten – at the Basel airport in Switzerland for a full decade. The Boeing 747-8 was ordered new, but that was never enough for royal heads, so it was sent for a full VIP refit. Delivered in 2012 to the Saudi Arabian Royal Flight group for the personal use of prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, N458BJ was never even used as it was meant to.
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