When an aircraft reaches the end of its lifecycle, it still contains plenty of value despite losing its airworthiness. Most retired aircraft end up in the scrapyard – these facilities are often referred to as ‘aircraft boneyards.’ From here, the plane can be recycled and its parts still have many potential applications. We explore what exactly happens when an aircraft is scrapped.
One last ride to the boneyard
Once a plane has been earmarked for retirement, it will usually make its final journey to an aircraft boneyard. While some retired aircraft can be purchased second-hand and put back into service, many will instead be stripped for parts and recycled.
All kinds of valuable materials and components can be salvaged from an aircraft. Engines are considered the most valuable part of a decommissioned plane and often find a second home on another aircraft. Other lucrative parts include power units, landing gears, generators, navigation systems and flight controls.
_(9141157385).jpg){kind=link}
According to Sven Daniel Koechler of North American Aerospace Industries Corporation (NAAI), up to 90% of an aircraft is usually recyclable.
Koechler said,
“An average commercial aircraft has 800 to 1,000 parts that can be recycled. The most valuable are the engine, landing gear, avionics and electronics. Once these are removed, overhauled, tested and re-certified, they can be repurposed back into aviation. The remaining materials, including aluminum, copper and various alloys, can go to recycling facilities and returned to the raw material supply chain.”
Aircraft owners have plenty to gain by recycling their planes, helping them recoup some of its cost. According to Airbus subsidiary Satair, the global market for recycled aircraft parts will reach $6 billion in 2022.
Bleeding the plane
An aircraft contains various fluids and chemicals, such as lubricants, liquid batteries and repellents, which keep it operational. One of the first steps of scrapping a plane is to bleed its hazardous fluids and materials.
This is a specialized process that must be done carefully to ensure environmental safety. Almost all manufacturers and recyclers, including Boeing, Embraer and Rolls-Royce, are part of the Aircraft Fleet Recycling Association (AFRA). This global non-profit collective states its mission is “developing and promoting the safe and sustainable management of circularity of components and aircraft in the aviation sector.”
Many parts are sold off second-hand
Each component on an aircraft has potential for re-use, especially newer parts. There is a lively second-hand marketplace for such parts, with airlines and private buyers looking for affordable components to integrate into their fleets.
Engines in particular are very lucrative. Satair revealed that 70% of the second-hand market is from engines and their parts.
David Treitel, former executive at Apollo Aviation Group, told CNN,
“Most of the value is in the engines, but there is an active market for all sorts of used parts and spares. It is often more interesting for an airline to replace a broken part with a used one, rather than repair it.”
A sizeable proportion of the world’s decommissioned planes are found in southwestern US states, which offer an optimal desert climate for storage and scrapping. The world’s largest boneyard in Davis-Monthan, Arizona, had around 4,400 aircraft in 2020 parked across 2,600 acres of desert.
Have you ever visited an aircraft boneyard? Do you see room for improvement in the aircraft recycling process? Feel free to share your insights in the comments.
from Simple Flying https://ift.tt/3Era2Sx
via IFTTT
Comments
Post a Comment