What Happens to Airplanes After They End Their Life?

Many questions come to our mind about aviation. This is especially evident the moment we board the plane. Why do stewardesses keep their hands behind their backs, why do the sunshades open during takeoff and landing, how do planes traveling at high speeds not collide with each other? We have explained the answers to all of these, you will see it at the end of our content, but now to another question let’s move on.

Aircraft perform for hundreds of hours before reaching the end of their lifespan. After a while, they expire. to expire many factors affecting There is also. Let’s see what these factors are and where do they go when they reach the end of their lives?

Airplanes age depending on their use.

The average lifespan of commercial aircraft is around 27 years, but many retire earlier than that, not just because they are old. flight hours, differences in pressure levelsmaintenance, landing and take-off cycles are also important.

It also varies depending on the type of aircraft. For example While Boeing 747 can operate up to 35 thousand cycles Airbus A320 can go up to 60 thousand revolutions.

What is done to aircraft that have expired?

Worldwide in the last 35 years More than 16 thousand commercial aircraft were retired reported. Additionally, almost 700 jets end their lives every year. Okay, but where do these removed planes go? Is there such a thing as a plane graveyard?

Of course, not all of them are scrapped as soon as the airline they operate from goes out of business. The airline is out of business, It doesn’t mean it’s been permanently grounded either. There is such a thing as second-hand trade and this is a serious business sector.

Of course, old planes also have buyers. At least each piece has its own value.

Relatively low-budget airlines are purchasing or using used aircraft rather than purchasing an expensive new aircraft. Airlines in countries with lax maintenance and safety controls taking.

If there is no buyer for the retired aircraft, it is sent to the aircraft scrapyard, i.e. to the plane cemetery going. Here, some of them are carefully stored and maintained until they are put into service again.

Parts of some of them can be used as spare parts. An aircraft can be disassembled into up to 2000 parts. From windshields to seats everything has value. A used turbofan engine is worth $2,000,000, while new parts can be worth twice that.

Airplanes can be recycled.

Almost 70% of an aircraft can be recycled for parts. In fact, it is planned to increase this rate to 95% with the development of technology. Aluminum obtained from scrapped aircraft; on beverage cans, bottle caps, window frames, on plates and coins It can even be used.

There are also some that are used for many different purposes.

Could you guess that planes could have other duties besides flying? However as hotel or restaurant There are even used ones! For example, in Costa Rica you can spend a night in a suite built into the fuselage of a Boeing 727.

Did you think it was limited to this? No! Two Irish builders built a Boeing 747-212B passenger plane turned it into a comfortable office. Doesn’t look bad, does it?

This is what happens to aircraft that have reached the end of their life. Although they may all have different adventures, many of them going to the airplane graveyard and here it is waiting for its new buyers.

If you would like to take a look at our other curious topics about airplanes: