A Boeing 747-8 BBJ is being part out and scrapped in Arizona these days with the jumbo jet reportedly flying for less than 30 hours of total flight with its owner.
The aircraft with registration N458BJ became the world’s first 747-8 airframe to be scrapped, just 10 years after it was delivered to its owner. The BBJ was purchased by the Saudi Crown Prince Sultan Abdul Aziz, who passed away in 2011 before the delivery of the aircraft.
Footage shared on the internet highlight that the Boeing 747-8 BBJ will never fly again. The first parts have started to be dismantled from the aircraft with the rudder and elevator, flaps on the wings, and parts of the tail cone and fuselage panels already missing. Furthermore, the engines have also been dismantled.
Moreover, the quad-jet was built in 2012 and has remained in storage amid multiple sales attempts at a price of 95 million dollars, a fifth of the aircraft’s value. Hence, it was probably decided to dismantle it.