Inside One of the World's Largest Aircraft 'Boneyards'; Arizona

Airlines were forced to make drastic changes in 2020, including furloughing pilots, cutting routes, and indefinitely storing hundreds of planes in the desert.

Sergio Perez/Reuters

One of these facilities is Pinal Air Park in Marana, Arizona — a small town located about 90 miles southeast of Phoenix.

The dry clime is favorable for preventing corrosion. Christian Petersen/Getty

As airlines started to shrink in 2020, hundreds of planes from all over the world flew to the 2,080-acre airpark.

Pinal Airpark in Marana, Arizona. Ramon Purcell/Boneyard Safari

With the influx, Pinal had to take special precautions to ensure the aircraft were ready to fly once travel eventually rebounded.

Pinal Airpark in Marana, Arizona. Taylor Rains/Insider

Because of this, Ascent Aviation Services — the largest aircraft service provider on the airfield — had to beef up its staff to maintain the constant arrivals.

A maintenance hangar at Pinal Airpark in Arizona. Thomas Pallini/Insider

Leasing companies were also filling the airfield after buying up inexpensive planes sold during COVID and storing them at Pinal.

Lessors did not have much business in maintenance prior to the pandemic as they typically left that task to the operator. But, Butler explained the companies started being more hands-on with AAS because the jets had to get upkeep during storage. Taylor Rains/Insider

Inside a remote Arizona aircraft boneyard storing nearly 300 planes grounded by the pandemic

However, with travel now roaring back and demand on track to surpass 2019 levels, AAS has gotten back to its roots — maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO).

Before the pandemic, MRO services made up over 70% of the company's revenue. Thomas Pallini/Insider

Basic offerings include simple maintenance checks and on-demand repairs, like fixing the landing gear or inspecting the flight controls.

AAS has its own landing gear shop to repair and overhaul parts to reuse on other planes. Taylor Rains/Insider

However, heavy maintenance is the most costly for airlines. This involves a full assessment of the aircraft and can take up to 60 days for widebody jets, Butler explained.

For example, less invasive maintenance checks ("A") will inspect the engines and their fan blades. Heavy maintenance checks ("C" and "D") will actually remove those components for inspections. Taylor Rains/Insider

"A narrowbody will cost around $2 million," he told Insider. "With widebodies, you're easily looking at $3 million."

A view of the wires and systems inside an aircraft a Pinal Airpark. Thomas Pallini/Insider

The main service it can't provide is engine overhauls, which are outsourced to other shops.

The engine detached from an aircraft at Pinal Airpark in Arizona. Taylor Rains/Insider

"A lot of our current projects are just waiting on engines," Butler told Insider. "There's a backlog because no one did engine maintenance during COVID because of the expenses."

A covered engine inside a hangar at Pinal Airpark. Taylor Rains/Insider

During an April 2023 tour of the airpark, Insider found the main lot full of planes, including two rare Boeing 747SPs.

One of the Boeing 747SPs at Pinal Airpark. Taylor Rains/Insider

Butler told Insider the stored aircraft also get regular maintenance checks to keep them airworthy.

A Boeing 777 undergoing maintenance. Taylor Rains/Insider

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