Aircraft disassembly: the circle of life

What happens after an aircraft is grounded for the last time and taken out of service? Howard Slutsken dives into the world of disassembly.

The delivery of a new airliner can be cause for celebration by an airline and manufacturer, with parties that begin on the ground, continue in the air, and conclude at the plane’s new home.

Other deliveries might be just one airframe of a hundred-plus aircraft order, with the airline’s crew simply ‘picking up the keys’ and enjoying the new plane smell as they anticipate the aircraft’s tens of thousands of hours in the air, carrying countless passengers to their destinations.

At

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