The great aviation graveyard: New aerial images show hundreds of planes left to die across the American deserts
- Aerial imagery taken from the U.S Navy, U.S Air Force and Google Maps show retired airplane 'boneyards' in Arizona, California and New Mexico
- The planes are stored in the dry conditions of the desert to stop them rusting in the hope that some may fly again whereas others are used for spare parts
- Large commercial planes including Boeing, McDonnell Douglas, Lockheed and Airbus aircraft are all pictured
Eerie photos have emerged of hundreds of retired aircraft parked in rows and set formations in aviation graveyards across America.
The 'boneyards' in Arizona, California and New Mexico are home to hundreds of retired commercial and military aircraft that are stored in the dry desert conditions to prevent them from going rusty.
Boeing, McDonnell Douglas, Lockheed and Airbus store planes at these bases, with the hope the planes will fly again. However many are eventually scrapped or used for spare parts.
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Commercial aircraft sit on the tarmac at the Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, California. In the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks, the airline industry suffered a drop in revenue which resulted in many older airplanes being taken out of service and grounded
There are 11 major bases across the U.S. that are used to store retired planes, yet these images are taken from largest and most densely populated bases.
These are the Pinal Airpark in Marana and the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, California's Southern Logistics Airport in Victorville and the Mojave Air & Space Port, and the Roswell International Air Center in Roswell, New Mexico.
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The Pinal Airpark is a public-use airport in Pinal County, Arizona, around seven miles from the central business district of Marana.
The Airpark is mainly used as a 'boneyard' for commercial planes, and old airplanes are stored there with the hope that the desert climate will stop them from rusting.
Pinal Airpark covers an area of 2,080 acres and has single runway measuring 6,849 by 150 feet.
The Southern California Logistics Airport is a public airport located in the city of Victorville in San Bernardino County. The facility was George Air Force Base between 1941 to 1992 and was used as a front-line United States Air Force base
An intact T-33 Shooting Star aircraft sits in the shadows of a dismantled B-47 Stratojet aircraft at the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center in Tucson, Arizona. More than 2,500 aircraft from all services are stored at the centre. Most of the aircraft are used for parts, returned to service, sold to foreign governments or donated to federal and state agencies
The Airpark is used as a parachute testing and training facility and in March Navy SEAL SCPO Brett Shadle was killed during parachute training at the facility, and another SEAL was injured.
At the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base there are more than $35billion (£22billion) worth of outdated planes kept as spare parts for current models.
The base was named after Lieutenants Samuel H. Davis and Oscar Monthan who died in military aircraft accidents during the First World War.
This shot is an aerial image of the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) located on the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. AMARG has approximately $35 billion (£22 billion) worth of aircraft, totalling around 4,500 planes, from all of various commercial and military companies
The planes in AMARG are used to replace more than 350,000 spare parts for active planes including engines, munitions, wiring and electronics.
Some planes are stored at the base between deployments but for more than 80 per cent of the 4,500 aircraft kept there are for parts.
Current military planes stored at the base include an intact T-33 Shooting Star aircraft and dismantled B-47 Stratojet aircraft.
Staff at the facility recycle, on average, more than 19,000 parts worth $568million (£366million) and the U.S. government allows the military in other countries to buy parts and planes from the site.
Major aircraft carriers in the U.S store dozens of passenger planes at the 5,000-acre former Air Force base in Victorville, California. The planes are mix of retired planes and planes that have been temporarily discontinued due to budget constraints. The airport was used in films such as The Sum of All Fears (2002) and Jarhead (2003)
The facility is the size of 1,300 football pitches and it was used in films such as The Sum of All Fears from 2002 and Jarhead in 2003.
The Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, California is a public airport located in the city of Victorville in San Bernardino County.
The facility was known as George Air Force Base between 1941 to 1992 and was used as a front-line military base.
Another major aircraft 'boneyard' is the Mojave Air and Space Port, also known as the Civilian Aerospace Test Center in California.
Numerous large Boeing, McDonnell Douglas, Lockheed, and Airbus aircraft owned by major airlines are currently kept at Mojave.
This aerial image shows aircraft parked in the Roswell International Air Center, New Mexico. During World War II the facility was known as Roswell Army International Airfield II, and renamed as the Walker Air Force Base during the Cold War. Roswell International Air Center was developed after the closure of Walker Air Force Base on 30 June 1967
The Roswell International Air Center in New Mexico is more commonly known for the he Roswell UFO incident of 1947. An aircraft supposedly shaped like a disk crashed on a ranch near Roswell on 7 July. Conspiracy theorists claim it was a spacecraft carrying aliens. The craft was apparently taken to the Air Center for tests
A number of movies, TV shows and adverts have also been filmed on location at the Mojave base.
It has two large film pads that can be flooded for water scenes and films including Die Hard 2, Flightplan, Speed and Waterworld have been filmed on location there.
The new aerial images released by the U.S Army and Navy also include aircraft parked at the Roswell International Air Center in New Mexico.
The Roswell International Air Center covers an area of 5,029 acres with two paved runways. The site is the storage facility for many of American Airlines' retired Airbus A300-600R wide body jetliners. It was previously used to launch stratospheric balloons for Air Force projects and was also used by Felix Baumgartner to launch his record-breaking freefall jump from the stratosphere in October last year
Another major aircraft 'boneyard' is the Mojave Air and Space Port, also known as the Civilian Aerospace Test Center, in California. Numerous large Boeing, McDonnell Douglas, Lockheed, and Airbus aircraft owned by major airlines are currently kept at Mojave
During World War II the facility was known as Roswell Army International Airfield II and renamed as the Walker Air Force Base during the Cold War.
Roswell International Air Center was developed after the closure of Walker Air Force Base on 30 June 1967.
The Roswell International Air Center in New Mexico is more commonly known for the Roswell UFO incident of 1947.
An aircraft supposedly shaped like a disk crashed on a ranch near Roswell on 7 July.
Conspiracy theorists claim it was a spacecraft carrying aliens and the craft was apparently taken to the Air Center for tests.
These military planes are stored at the Davis¿Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. The base was named after Lieutenants Samuel H. Davis and Oscar Monthan who died in military aircraft accidents during the First World War. On 16 September 2011 the Base was placed on lockdown and news agencies reported shots had been fired inside the facility. Although the military later said the lockdown was because an armed man entered the base
The Roswell International Air Center covers an area of 5,029 acres with two paved runways.
The site is the storage facility for many of American Airlines' retired Airbus A300-600R wide body jetliners.
It was previously used to launch stratospheric balloons for Air Force projects and was also used by Felix Baumgartner to launch his record-breaking freefall jump from the stratosphere in October last year.
The Pinal Airpark is a public-use airport in Pinal County, Arizona. It's mainly used as a 'boneyard' for commercial planes. Old airplanes are stored there with the hope that the desert climate will stop them from rusting in case the aircraft is needed to fly again. However, the majority of aircraft taken to Pinal Airpark are scrapped
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