A Continued Saga...
Well, the parking of aircraft for parts is nothing new. I flew for SV and was on the initial course for the 777s in 97. Within the first 2 months, we had several aircraft being dispatched with brakes inoperative. Interestingly, we didn't have 'the special tool' to allow for us not having to go through the performance related decrements. So, we had to calculate the geardown penalties. Not long after, new aircraft arrived and were subsequently parked in the dirt at the south...scavenged for parts. It doesn't sound like much has changed in the 20 years since.