Air travel has become a major part of our society, with industries and individuals depending on air transport for their livelihood. But have you ever wondered what happens to the artifacts of our airborne culture when they’re no longer needed? In many cases, they’re simply abandoned and forgotten.
(images via: Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields)
Military airfields often have a rich and complicated history, and Johnston Atoll is no exception. Located near Oahu, Johnston Atoll is one of the most isolated atolls in the world. Johnston Island, the main island of the atoll, was once a military base and an emergency landing site for distressed aircraft. After changing hands several times between different branches of the military, the island was turned into a weapons disposal site in the late 1990s. Today, the island is completely out of service for aircraft and is slated to be turned into a US wildlife refuge.
(images via: Stempel)
Kluczewo Airfield in Poland was built by the Luftwaffe in 1935 and later taken over by the Red Army. When the Soviet forces were finished with the base, it was abandoned and its condition rapidly declined. Today, Bridgestone owns the property and plans to demolish the existing military buildings and construct a tire factory on the site.
(images via: Earth Magnified and Forgotten NY)
Flushing Airport in College Point, NY was once a bustling center of activity. Goodyear blimps operated from the facility in the 1960s and 1970s. Due to frequent flooding (and partially due to a terrible crash at the airport) the site was closed in 1984. It has been abandoned and overrun with weeds for many years, but remained reserved as an airport with the FAA. In September and October of 2008, the buildings on the site were finally demolished.
(images via: Nathan Kensinger)
Floyd Bennett Field has the distinction of being the first municipal airport in New York City. It is no longer used as a commercial airport, but the NYPD uses it as a heliport, and the occasional plane does still land there. The hangars and other buildings were empty for many years, but recently some of them have been adapted as a recreation center and other community projects.
(images via: Ruud Leeuw)
The northern parts of Canada and Alaska are doggone dangerous places to operate aircraft. High winds, frighteningly low temperatures, and inhospitable terrain contribute to numerous crashes there. Retrieving the wreckage can often be impossible, due either to the remote location or financial considerations. As a result, there are plenty of wrecked aircraft to be found in that part of the world.
(images via: English Russia)
Russia is another place where abandoned aircraft aren’t too hard to find. After the cold war, many entire military bases were abandoned along with the equipment and aircraft that used to be based there. Some of these planes are used for scrap or for parts, but many just languish in their parking areas, and will probably continue to do so for all of the foreseeable future.
(images via: Military Heat)
It’s hard to understand why equipment that obviously cost a lot of money to make and operate would simply be left to rust in a field somewhere. These Russian aircraft have a haunting appeal, though, and an indescribable kind of beauty.
(images via: DLBerek)
Aviation enthusiasts have a field day with aircraft boneyards. The boneyards are where planes go to die - or, more accurately, where they go to wait. Most will be torn apart eventually and used for their parts and materials. Some even find a second life as displays on military bases. And once in a while, they’re used for something truly creative like a recycled house. But before all of that happens, they provide the perfect photo opportunity for people eager to capture the sad tranquility of grounded aircraft.
BBC)Not all aircraft abandonments are permanent. This Boeing 737 was being transported (sans wings) on a trailer to a private buyer through the streets of Mumbai. The driver asked for directions to his destination, but was mistakenly led down a street that contained an underpass too low for the plane to pass under. When the driver realized he couldn’t go forward and couldn’t turn around, he got out of the vehicle and walked off. The plane sat for several days, disrupting local businesses and traffic, before disappearing in the night.
(images via: Abandoned but not Forgotten)
The eventual fate of airplanes is often uncertain when they are decommissioned, wrecked, or just abandoned. However, when a plane ends up at the bottom of a lake you might expect it to stay there. This B25 bomber was recently pulled out of Lake Murray in Lexington County, South Carolina. It was previously a military plane used for exercises and experiments, but later spent a lot of years on the bottom of the lake. A private collector arranged this retrieval mission in order to display the plane for the public.
(images via: Dark Roasted Blend, Kent Intermediate School District, Jeffro Jr, and English Russia)
As fascinating as airplanes and helicopters are, the most amazing aircraft are actually those destined for space. It’s a little shocking to think of how much time, effort and money went into the creation and building of these machines and how they are now little more than litter. The facilities built to house, launch and control them are often abandoned as well. Hopefully they, too will find another life in the future.
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133 Comments
October 14th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
i’d love to see more of the abandoned airports of the US. There are a few russian plans thrown in. I think I’ve seen them before. It is some boneyard that has thousands of russian planes.
October 14th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Military Air Base in (ex Yugoslav Army)
http://www.zeljava-lybi.com/Ze.....2_eng.html
http://www.kupoprodaja.com/zeljava/index_en.php
October 14th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Wow, it’s something that I haven’t thought about before, but, again, wow! I can’t believe so many amazing exhibits of our past are just “laying around”. An another note, as a photographer, I have to note that some of the image of the abandoned airports and hangers are fantastic. After seeing Floyd Bennett Field I have convinced myself to look into shooting at that location. Who knows, maybe I can explore a new backdrop and maybe give a little credit to something that really shouldn’t be overlooked. Nice Posts.
Jason
Owner/Head Designer
Science & Sanctity Clothing
October 14th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
I would *love* to know where that island airport is, up near the top!
Where is it at?
October 14th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
Wow, thanks for this. Very cool set. Do you know if these abandoned airports and grounds are for sale?
October 15th, 2008 at 3:47 am
If I recall correctly, the only shuttle that is sitting anywhere is the Enterprise, and that sits in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Challenger and Columbia were lost in tragic accidents. Discovery, Endeavor, and Atlantis are still in active service.
The shuttles seen in the photos are actually of the Soviet Union’s “Buran”, which was the reusable spacecraft that they developed in response to the United States’ Shuttle Program.
October 15th, 2008 at 4:25 am
Wow, truly some amazing photos. Thanks for sharing.
October 15th, 2008 at 6:41 am
Fantastic pictures! The hydroplane is awsome and should be saved! Is it a Catalina?
October 15th, 2008 at 7:32 am
My dad worked for several years on Johnston Island. It was boring, but apparently the diving was excellent. He also managed to set up a lapidary shop there, and taught others how to cut and polish rocks and coral.
October 15th, 2008 at 8:13 am
Wow, all these locations would make a great place to shoot a horror movie.
October 15th, 2008 at 9:41 am
great post ! I thought I was the only one to like such abandoned airports but whow and WHOW ! was I supoprised :)
if you want to take a look at abandoned UNDERGROUND airport visit http://www.kupoprodaja.com/zeljava
October 15th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
these photographs are simply gr8.
Good Work Dude
October 15th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
great photos,
good work!
October 16th, 2008 at 12:54 am
Abandoned places in Poland : http://www.PustePokoje.prv.pl
October 16th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
I like it very much, and I think it would be a good idea to know the situation to see it all in google earth.
Greeatings at all from Canary Islands.
October 17th, 2008 at 10:42 am
Crna Gora za Crnogorce - Srbe na vrbe - Posrbica je gori od Srbijanca - Istraga Posrbica - Istraga Poturica - Nikad nece Crna Gora bit obala Srbijanskoga mora.
Pozdrav od zelenasa iz Berana - Oj Cetinje cast ti svaka kad si cisto od Turaka.
October 17th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Fantastic pictures!
October 20th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
As to why some Russian aircraft would be “abandoned”, a bit of research would have easily answered that question. One of the factors that drove the collapse of the Soviet Union was the financial toll taken by the military trying to keep up with the US - in essence we bankrupted them when they tried to keep up with our military buildup. However, in the case of the Soviet bomber with the nose chopped off, this was part of the START II arms limitation treaty, where both the US and the CCCP (USSR) agreed to dismantle/destroy a number of weapons, primarily nuclear-capable bombers and missiles. The agreed to method of destruction was severing the fuselage with a guillotine-type device, rendering the fuselages unusable. They were then deliberately left out for some specified period of time so that the reconnaisance sattelites of the other country could take pics and verify that the proper number of airframes had been destroyed. At one time I had a website with pictures of B52-Ds destroyed using the method. A quick web search will probably show similar pics…
October 27th, 2008 at 11:17 am
Oj Marko “Milu” ti majku crnogosrku jebem sto te rodi tako jadnoga iz dupila ili gluhoga dola i swe ti ravno jebem od cetinja pa do berana,mrtvu ti majku jebem za 1 glas ste davali Turcima po 1000 eura,a sad ste protiv njih,swe vam nezahvalno jebem.AL NAJEBACU VAM SE MAJKE A I TEBI SAMO DA SAZNAM DJE SI!!!owo ce ti bit poslednji POST na forumima.!!!
November 1st, 2008 at 6:12 pm
wow…..this site is to @#$%^& kool……wish i could visit these fantastic “boneyards”….thanks and my hat is off to who ever turned us on to this site………….downtowndan
November 5th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
I was in HT-8 when they had the orange H-34’s.
November 9th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
sucks there are not more pictures, as a gallery should be.
lame
November 29th, 2008 at 6:49 am
I used to live on Johnston Atoll as a contractor for the Air Force. I reconized the first pic. It was a great place to live
December 7th, 2008 at 10:55 am
Some photos here of Nicosia Airport, Cyprus which was a abandoned in 1974 after the Turkish Invasion. Even today a Trident Aircraft still sits there, not having moved in nigh on 35 years!
http://www.pbase.com/alexis/nic
December 7th, 2008 at 11:11 am
I was stationed on Johnston Island in 1962 when I was in the Air Force. I was there during the Nuclear Test series. I have an aerial picture of the Island when it was about 1/3 that size.
January 4th, 2009 at 11:13 pm
I wanted to know if anyone here knows of an abandoned airport or base for sale in the South West? New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado etc.
Much Thanks,
Rebecca
425-941-5321
February 10th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
Wow! Really? I didn’t know there were other people out there that shared an interest of mine, let alone a web-site for it.
@ 36,000 feet, over Labrador, Canada, I saw an absolutley MASSIVE abandoned airport. I’m researching it now. I’ll post ya pic’s if I get anything.
Also, if I wanted to contact someone that posted a comment how could I do that?
cheers and grest job!
gabe
March 5th, 2009 at 10:36 am
Wow that was very shocking that they would just leave airplanes laying around in the middle of a city.. nice site bone head
March 9th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
Well it is very useful information.Thanks for sharing this with us
April 10th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
Found this site looking for abandoned places to visit in Eastern Europe. This site is to good to be true! Any recommendations for places to visit?
May 30th, 2009 at 4:08 am
If I’m in there so I repairing and modification all plane in bone yard became upgrade then resale to other growth country bcoz they need it.
June 5th, 2009 at 8:56 am
I didn’t see it mentioned but if you like mothballed military aircraft google Davis Monthan boneyard.
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