A “zero-kilometer” Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was so problematic that it went for demolition instead

Passenger aircraft that are at the end of their life cycle are taken to a huge scrap yard to be broken down into parts. Recently, however, the same fate befell a plane that had only seen service a few times: a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with the registration number N947BA, which was the 17th Dreamliner to roll off the production line in Everett, USA.

THE Simple Flying reports that the plane is currently at Roswell International Air Center (ROW) in New Mexico, awaiting dismantling. This is the first GE Aerospace-engined 787 to be disassembled in the United States, according to C&L Aviation, which specializes in disassembled parts, and the first time in the world that a “new” 787 has been disassembled.

The story of N947BA was quite unusual from the very beginning, the newspaper reports. The aircraft is Boeing serial number 35507, serial number 17, one of the early production Dreamliners built before the type was even certified.

THE Seattle Times according to Boeing, it was difficult for Boeing to put these planes into service because they had significant shortcomings: for example, the part where the wing and the fuselage meet was weak, so it had to be supported with unique reinforcement. However, these modifications made the machines heavier, which reduced the take-off weight by up to 12 tons.

https://hvg.hu/tudomany/20240507_boeing-787-dreamliner-repulogep-hiba-biztonsagi-jegyzokonyv-biztonsagi-ellenorzes-hamisitas

N947BA was ordered by Royal Air Maroc of Morocco, but did not take delivery of the aircraft due to assembly errors and excess weight. Instead, it sold it in 2017 to Crystal Cruises, an American travel company. The company wanted to convert it with 60 first-class seats to launch Crystal Luxury Air. The company would have offered 14-28 day trips around the world with the plane, but the plan was never realized. Finally, in 2021, Crystal sold the aircraft for $25 million.

The plane then awaited its fate in Victorville for seven years, until it was transported to New Mexico in 2025 to be dismantled.

According to Tim Brecher, president of C&L Aviation, the plane has tremendous value because there is a shortage in the parts market, and a virtually brand new plane can be stripped of a lot of parts that can be used to maintain older planes.

According to calculations, the engine alone could be worth $20 million, and the value of all the parts that can be dismantled and sold is more than $50 million. This is much more than what the machine is worth assembled, which clearly shows how serious the difficulties are in the parts market.

Previously, two 787-8s serving in Norway were decommissioned in a similar way, but they were already approaching their 12-year life cycle, when the machines must be thoroughly renovated. This would have consumed a significant amount of money, so breaking the machines down into parts and selling them like that seemed like a much better deal.

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