Aircraft boneyard

An aircraft boneyard or aircraft graveyard is a storage area for aircraft that are retired from service. Most aircraft at boneyards are either kept for storage with some maintenance or have their parts removed for reuse or resale and are then scrapped. Boneyard facilities are generally located in deserts, such as those in the Southwestern United States, since the dry conditions reduce corrosion and the hard ground does not need to be paved.[1][2] The 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group in Tucson, Arizona, the largest facility of its kind, is colloquially known as "The Boneyard".[1]

Boeing B-52s in storage or awaiting dismantlement at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group in Arizona, United States.

Notable aircraft boneyards
LocationCountryNotes
Alice Springs, Northern Territory[3]  Australia First large-scale aircraft boneyard outside the United States.[4]
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan  Canada Contains 23 old Fokker F-28 Fellowships of Canadian Regional Airlines and Air Canada Jazz[3][5] Planes stored off service roads north of 09/27.
Mountainview, Ontario  Canada Used primarily for storage of older RCAF Aircraft.[3]
Manas International, Chuy Region  Kyrgyzstan Soviet era aircraft began to appear after 1991.[3]
Teruel, Aragon[6]  Spain
Cotswold Airport (formerly Kemble Airfield), Gloucestershire  United Kingdom Air Salvage International, the leading European aircraft decommissioning company.[7]
RAF Shawbury, Shropshire[8]  United Kingdom From end of World War II to 1972.
Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona  United States Nearly 4,400 aircraft on 2,600-acre, 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group[1]
Kingman Field, Arizona  United States Storage and repair for Delta, American and United.[9]
Phoenix Goodyear, Arizona[10]  United States
Pinal Airpark, Arizona[11]  United States
Blytheville, Arkansas  United States Storage and scrapping for retired aircraft including the MD-80 series aircraft.
San Bernardino, California  United States Storage and scrapping for retired aircraft such as the MD-88.
Mojave Air and Space, California  United States More than 100 planes.[12]
Victorville, California[13]  United States
Oscoda-Wurtsmith, Michigan  United States Storage for Kalitta Air and other airlines.
Greenwood-Leflore Airport, Mississippi  United States Storage, modification and scrapping for retired aircraft.
Tupelo, Mississippi  United States Storage, modification and scrapping for retired aircraft.
Roswell, New Mexico  United States Several large passenger and cargo jets[14]
Laurinburg-Maxton, North Carolina  United States Charlotte Aircraft Corporation strips former Northwest Airlines aircraft[15]
Abilene Regional (Former), Texas[16]  United States Many retired Saab 340s mostly from Envoy Air-American Eagle.[17]

See also

References
  1. Stephen Dowling (18 September 2014). "Secrets of the Desert Aircraft Boneyards". BBC. Archived from the original on 11 August 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  2. John A. Weeks III (2009-07-03). "Field Guide To Aircraft Boneyards". Archived from the original on 2009-11-24. Retrieved 2014-11-06.
  3. "Aircraft Boneyards & Storage Facilities Around the World". AirplaneBoneyards.com. Archived from the original on 25 November 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  4. "Australia gets first plane 'boneyard' outside US". Traveller. 27 May 2011. Archived from the original on 23 July 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  5. "Photos: Airplane graveyard". 9 August 2013. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017.
  6. Brunat, David. "El 'aeropuerto milagro' de Teruel: el parquin de aviones más grande de Europa" (in Spanish). El Confidencial. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  7. "Jet cemetery: Where do aircraft go when airlines go to the wall?". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2017-06-18.
  8. Tom Moran (26 June 2014). "Withdrawn Blackburn Buccaneers Torn Apart at RAF Shawbury". Archived from the original on 23 November 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  9. Associated Press (18 August 2013). "Kingman Airport carries right conditions for storing, repairing planes". ABC. Archived from the original on 2 April 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  10. "Phoenix Goodyear Airport (GYR) in Arizona". AirplaneBoneyards.com. Archived from the original on 23 November 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  11. "Pinal Airpark: Once-secretive aircraft boneyard slowly opens its gates". Azcentral.com. 2015-03-27. Retrieved 2016-02-14.
  12. Chui, Sam. "Inside The Airplane Graveyard". Sam Chui. Sam Chui. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  13. Pae, Peter (15 March 2009). "As travel declines, aircraft 'boneyard' in Victorville fills up". The Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 11 March 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  14. "Roswell International Air Center (ROW) in New Mexico". AirplaneBoneyards.com. Archived from the original on 23 November 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  15. Andrew Vane (27 February 2014). "The Boneyard of the East - My Retro Planespotting Experience". AirlineReporter. Archived from the original on 8 January 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  16. "Old planes removed from Abilene Regional Airport". BigCountryHomepage.com. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  17. "Airports, Bases, Airplane Storage & Boneyards near Abilene Texas". Planes of the Past. Archived from the original on 22 June 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2015.

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