Wrecks of aircrafts at airports - where are they?

[aviator2007]

Hi guys,

just found an interesting picture showing some airplane wrecks parked at the airport in Madrid (Spain).

I am interested if it is common that aircrafts which can´t be used for flying any longer parked for long time at airports and especially -> do you know any other locations with aircrafts, which rebuilding is not possible due to missing parts or profitable and waiting to become scrap?

I know there are some big aircraft storage areas in the US, but they aren´t the ones I am seeking.
I don´t mean big jets - just planes of the former generations (for example piston powered oldtimers with max. 2 engines like the DC-3 or something in this class)

You guys travel throughout the world and I am sure you have seen such storage places in the hidden corners of the airfields / airports
(I am especially interested in planes located in Europe, but also in other parts of the world when the planes are a bit unique!)

Many thanks about your postings (PMs also welcome) - I am very courious about your answers!

Sebastian

PS: And no, I am not dealing with scrap

[One9iner]

I think Istanbul has a skeleton yard??

[JennyB]

Try Coventry, though a lot of the wrecks still fly!

[airwolf96]

Came across a DC-3 on side apron when I flew into Darwin,Australia seemed in good condition.
You could also check out The DC-3 Hangar on douglasdc3.com DC3 C47 C-47 (http://www.douglasdc3.com/)

[BIGBAD]

Amman, Jordan appears to have the old Iraqi airways in a junk yard

[rogervisual]

I recall seeing a old four engine aircraft in a field next to the main road along the algarve, portugal.

[pigboat]

Miami used to have a wonderful boneyard. I don't know if it's still there, haven't been there for years.

[BEagle]

Loads of old F-27s at Koln-Bonn.

[egsshell]

Seb,

I can't think of many airports in Europe which do not have some junk aircraft sitting around somewhere. Even Heathrow has a Concorde :sad:

It might be quicker if you asked a question about a single aircraft type or a specific airport ie. "Does anyone know where there is a Constellation" (yes - I think there is one in Nantes) or "Is there anything parked at ABC"

Happy hunting.

[ehwatezedoing]

In Canada.

Yellowknife (Buffalo Airways spare parts junkyard with C-46, DC-3, DC-4)
Red Deer (Airspray, also their parked A-26's are more or less all for sale in different conditions)
I can think of a dozen or so Bac-146 stored in Calgary.
Same numbers of F-28's sitting iddle for a few years now in either Regina or Saskatoon.
I stand to be corrected but that's what I can think right now for this part of the world.

oh, and Africa has a lot of junk, parked in a corner or simply flying you could be (not) surprise :E

[gas path]

There's a Caravelle and a DC3 parked up (dumped!) at Thessaloniki.

[A/P Disc]

Havana. Full of old DC-10's.

[Nightfire]

If they are still there... In Malaga, I saw several old IBERIA DC-10s standing around. They were only "parked", but none of them looked as if they might still be useable. But that was in 2003.

In Saigon (Ho-Chih-Minh) Airport, you can see a real "museum". Dozens of old Soviet-era helicopters standing around in old shelters, that still have rusty machine-gun mounts fixed on the rooves. On the apron, you have plenty of old Antonov-Turboprops in varying states of decay - and I'm sure that some of them are still flying. And next to the main taxiway, there are the wrecks of a Tu-134, a 727 and some other old commercial jets.
Really beautiful - except that you aren't allowed to walk around and check them out. :{

But otherwise, with todays prices for (recycled) aluminium and steel, I doubt wether there are still a lot of old planes standing around European airports. Certainly there are no boneyards like in the USA.

East Germany had quite a lot of stuff until a few years ago, but that's also over by now. I remember having seen plenty of old military helicopters and fighters, as well as agricultural pistons (i.e. AN-2, PZL, Wilga, etc.) standing around on abandoned fields in the countryside. At that time, it was also still possible to buy souvenirs like cockpit-instruments or seats or things like that on local flea-markets (ebay has taken over that job meanwhile).
But that is not anymore - those aircraft have all been removed, scrapped, or, if they were lucky, sometimes put into museums.

As a general guideline, the chances for spotting some interesting junk usually get better the further east and south you travel. Countries like Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria or Ukrainia often have old wrecks lying around their smaller civil aerodromes.
Or just go to Africa, where almost any airport has a nice collection of abandoned planes. :}

I "found" an old DC-3 in Nairobi once, which was pretty much finished. Just an empty shell, without engines or wheels, paint peeling off the badly bashed-up fuselage, and the interior almost completely empty. Searching through what was left of the cockpit, I discovered some old papers lying around, and was able to find out that this plane had been standing there since 1978 - at least, that's when the registration apparently had expired.
Otherwise, there was absolutely nothing left inside, so no souvenirs :(

[reynoldsno1]

There certainly used to be a fair number of sorry looking Mil helis and other assorted Russian hardware at Kathmandu...

[Ad C]

MSE (manston) has an MK DC8(?) and a 747(I forget the company) in various states of demolition.

[sicobra]

As a good example of scrap value these days, I believe Norwich Airport have sold thier old completish Handley Page Herald that was used for towing practice and the Herald and F27 fuselages used for fire practice to the scrap man, they have been there for years but all of a sudden Norwich are trying to raise all the money they can and it seems they saw the light of the scrap mans torch, it may already be too late to see these as it was three weeks ago that I was told the the scrapman commeth:(

[scudpilot]

Theres a Boeing 777 without a tail visible from the A30 At Heathrow Airport.....

[Tempsford]

A Britannia fuselage at Luton

[llondel]

I've seen quite a few aircraft parked at a dump at Heathrow.

No sorry, that was T2... :E

[Hipsway]

Air Nigeria or Nigerian Airways (??) used to have a 747-200 and some other randoms parked up at Lagos as well as the usual assortment of wrecks scattered about the airfield. Not sure if they are still there and can't remember noticing so many last time I was there - I'm down that way next week so I'll tell you !

[peterperfect]

I've just seen virtually every aircraft ever supplied to Libyan Arab Airlines since 1950 still dotted around Tripoli Airport. Probably no process in country for scrapping airframes.
The whole of the Madagascan Air Force is parked up adjacent to Antananarivo Airport,
Both sites probably show up on Google Earth.

Oh yes, Atyrau Kazakhstan on the Caspian there were a decent number of AN-2s and their spare engines in boxes last time I passed through.

Lets face it Seb/Av2007; your thread will actually reveal there are wrecks and removed from service aircraft in 50% of the worlds airports in one form or another, all covered on other threads inc spotters corner.
pp

[SHAGGS]

Jackson's Airport at Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea has 3 F-28s, there is also a DC-3, Nomad, Casa 212, and a Piper Aztec scattered about the airport. There may also be more, as there is quite a bit of old GA junk parked up that no longer seem to fly.

[SEA For Now]

Jakarta seems to have its share of 74s and DC10s. How many still fly are anyones guess.

[John Hill]

There was around about 100 aircraft wrecks on and around the airfield at Kabul, Afghanistan. In addition to the expected ex Soviet military and transports there was also a sizeable collection of AN-2s, a Yak-40 (or two) and the recognisable shape of a DC3 fuselage.

There was one of the Ruski first generation small jet bombers with tail gunners position on the grass quite close to the terminal building but I see in recent photographs that it has gone.

I noticed in Cairo, about 1982, that you could trace the political affiliations of Egypt if you knew your aircraft types by the succession of wrecks adjacent to the taxiway, French, British, Russian and American types in that order.

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Go to a really big book seller and search "Wrecks and relics".

[Rhys S. Negative]

Wrecks & Relics is a good read, but covers the UK only and all aircraft civil, military, large and small.

For old airliners worldwide I'd recommend getting hold of Survivors published by the Gatwick Aviation Society. (I have no personal connection, so hope this recommendation isn't seen as advertising).

Rhys.

[Ian L]

Cave Monster (TU154) at Stutgart.

[amanoffewwords]

Nicosia Int. Airport had a few aircraft lying around when I was there a few (well quite a few) years ago. Very eerie place to be in.

[Snoopy]

At ZRH there's an ex-Air Afrique DC-8 used for fire practice.

At the old Athens airport (now an exhibition centre) there's an ex-Olympic B737 and B747 and a few other odds and sods....

I would have thought they would be worth a bob or two now also given the price of scrap metal.

[K.Whyjelly]

When I worked in Africa over a decade ago I remember seeing these babies slowly rotting away in front of the main terminal building....



Constellations:

L-1049H c/n 4831 CF-NAL Abandoned at Sao Tome since 1970 in derelict condition.
L-1049H c/n 4832 CF-NAM Abandoned at Sao Tome since 1970 in derelict condition.




.............along with a DC3 fuselage and a jet aircraft fuselage possibly a Fouga Magister.



Around the back on the apron sat the delapidated sight of an Equatorial Airlines F27.



Not been back since 1999 so not sure if these are still in situ

[VAFFPAX]

There's an airframe at BOD in very good condition sans engines... I enquired about the airline who possibly owns the body on here, but there's not been any reply. Looked like an Airbus 32x or 31x frame to me, but then again it was fairly distant and we were taxiing too quickly.

S.