What happens to airplane crash debris AFTER the investigation and all litigation have ended?
Posted by cyclephotos@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 54 comments
We've all seen the sad images of a crashed planes bits laid out in a huge hangar or warehouse. But what happens once all the inspections and investigations have ended? All this occurred to me as the AF447 case seemed to have concluded. Do they keep storing the pieces for a set amount of time or are they simply disposed of?
GreenMonster34@reddit
Currently dealing with this from a GA perspective, if anyone has any questions. The NTSB jist released the wreckage back to us but it'll be another week or two before we can go up to Jacksonville, Fl, to get it out of the hangar and dragged back home.
reiflame@reddit
I hope you're ok ❤️
GreenMonster34@reddit
Yup, my dad had an engine out in September and put it down in a field, ended up tipping over the nose onto its back. He's miraculously unscathed and we're hoping to rebuild a new plane in the coming years.
Keeping the wreckage cuz it was dirt cheap and the engine and avionics are all still in great shape. Cause of crash was fuel starvation but still unsure the exact cause, waiting for the NTSB report.
IllegalStateExcept@reddit
Sounds like an interesting engineering challenge. Is this a certified aircraft or an experimental? How do you go about testing the salvaged parts for damage and reliability?
Thanks for answering questions. Glad your dad was ok.
GreenMonster34@reddit
Experimental, Zenith 601HDS for those wondering.
The engine will go back to Viking Engines, they're only a few hours away by car. The engine had less than 10 hours on it, we changed it after getting home from Oshkosh. So they'll go thru it and make sure everything is ok.
For the avionics, I dont actually know the answer. It wasnt a glass panel by any means so we're talking about the radio, an engine monitoring similar to a Garmin 275 (but much cheaper lol) was also on the panel. Everything else was steam gauges and an ipad, so I'm sure those gauges can be inspected/calibrated. Great question, gonna call my dad after work and ask him!
RedAirRook@reddit
Viking engine --> Root cause!
GreenMonster34@reddit
Could you expand on that? We had 2 years and over 200 hours on the original Viking engine and only had to replace it cuz we overheated it and cracked a cylinder (we're used to the temps up north, not the florida heat). We've been really happy with their service.
Bisonfired@reddit
why don't you ask airworthy on youtube
GreenMonster34@reddit
You mean Waiworthy? Didnt he put a Lycoming on the front of his? I must admit I havent seen the engine for his giveaway build (which I'm entered to win btw).
RedAirRook@reddit
I have two friends who've had years of horrible experiences with those engines. Both have moved on to Rotaxes, and they vow never to sin again.
GreenMonster34@reddit
Hahaha good to know! I'd love to bolt a 916is on the front of this thing. Not sure my dad has the budget, or if it's even been done before with Zenith. Worth looking into tho!
usrdef@reddit
Usually:
RedNeckSharkBitten@reddit
TWA 800 debris was destroyed by the NTSB and disposed the wreckage to an undisclosed location.
https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/virginia/ntsb-destroys-twa-flight-800-wreckage-in-loudoun-county/65-d0bd4c7c-ecba-4e55-bbc7-25e922677fd3#
pup5581@reddit
The one where people saw a light going up from the horizon to the area of the plane right? Funny how that's one of the biggest conspiracy of them all...and they destroy all of the wreckage.
biggsteve81@reddit
What do you propose they do with that wreckage? Sell it as souvenirs? They can't keep it forever as hangar space isn't free.
Wdwdash@reddit
Literally yes souvenirs
https://www.mypilotstore.com/MyPilotStore/sep/15724?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19746053410&gbraid=0AAAAAD_uYzJQ20JSXaWcTkUCiaciR9QrT&gclid=CjwKCAjwidXQBhAZEiwA4egw6FkYe3pZwX3G2SKQ3q2WZeOKslwkn_Jn0To7dCmYvmu8Ldgpb1606RoCjm8QAvD_BwE
CaptainSholtoUnwerth@reddit
Ahh yes, the ever reliable "eyewitness account".
cmanning1292@reddit
Not to mention, that's not even what missiles look like! They don't fire their motors for the entire ascent, they cut off and coast after a few thousand feet.
All these supposed "missiles" accounts are more consistent with seeing the flaming fuselage uncontrollably ascend after the forward section separated.
It's so dumb!!
Imaginary_Ganache_29@reddit
The wreckage remained in a hangar for NTSB research and training for 25 years before it was scrapped, after it was digitally 3D mapped.
Hundreds of aviation professionals and media toured that wreckage for years and there and tons of pics and video available online. There are even multiple documentaries where they take you into the center fuel tank and you can see the wiring and where the bulkheads were pushed forward in the explosion.
Not exactly disposed of to be hidden away….
MaverickTTT@reddit
Can confirm. Got to see it up close. Amazing they were able to piece that much of it back together.
ApprehensiveFactor98@reddit
Literally that's not how missiles fly.
cmanning1292@reddit
Lmao imagine having actual tests and investigations available at your fingertips and you choose to believe and post this shit.
Suuuumimasen@reddit
Interesting....
JunkyardBardo@reddit
What am I missing? Why so many downvotes for one word?
Av8Xx@reddit
Surplus parts come with a certificate that they were not involved in a crash.
SubarcticFarmer@reddit
That's not what happened with TWA 800 debris
gefahr@reddit
>NTSB confirmed the remains of the plane are being destroyed and disposed of in a secure manner this week. None of the parts will be recognizable or identifiable, according to an NTSB spokesperson.
>An agreement with families of the victims indicated the reconstruction would be used strictly as a training tool and never as an exhibit.
From 2023.
SubarcticFarmer@reddit
That agrees with what I said. It wasn't a museum piece and was destroyed
gefahr@reddit
Yes, but your comment wasn't useful, so I added the context that would make it so.
diodorus1@reddit
On a lot of the old gear I used we needed paperwork that said “this equipment was not part of an accident” guess some operators will take stuff that was in an accident but my company would not.
tidytibs@reddit
Military - Our aircraft was stripped to make a "new" simulator from the remains of the flight deck and the one "good" engine made as a trainer, the rest was recycled. After the AIB determination was done, we got a TON of interior cosmetic panels off of it before it was scrapped. Think my boss got a window, few pilots and ground crew got a small panel here and there for their retirement, etc.
Also, I remember a civilian plane crash nearby with a fatality. When the investigation was over the federal government released it to the insurance company who "owned" the wreck and scrapped it. The family couldn't even get a small part of it or they would forfeit their payout. Luckily, there's only one aircraft junkyard in the area and it went there so the owner gave them a piece, no charge.
Independent_Mix_4449@reddit
A company I used to work for was tasked by the NTSB to help recover and lay out the wreckage from a fatal crash many years ago with the promise of payment for our time. Needless to say, when they were through with the wreckage, we got a response to our invoice about how everyone must sacrifice for aviation safety blah, blah, blah.......the company filed a claim with probate to recover from the estate of the deceased (both husband and wife were killed in the accident). We were the last in line for any dollars left over from any estate claims and got nothing from that route. We were left with a pile of smelly wreckage that we ended up having to pay a dump to take it. All that being said, when the NTSB asked us to help again with another local accident since we were so helpful last time, they were politely declined.
BrockwayMonorail@reddit
Some of the Pan Am 103 wreckage is in a scrapyard: https://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/lockerbie-disaster-pan-am-flight-103-remains-lie-forgotten-in-a-lincolnshire-scrapyard-196102
polagear@reddit
I found it so erie that the cockpit was sitting almost intact with those distinct Pan Am livery for so many years in some random scrapyard
gefahr@reddit
Huron to something - it's unsettling somehow.
zyzmog@reddit
A superior comment, this one.
oioioifuckingoi@reddit
These comments are ontarioly unacceptable for this topic.
nbrazel@reddit
It even has a pin on google maps, but the quality isn’t great https://maps.app.goo.gl/kGhgpmg4MbomtWDn8?g_st=ic
heyflyguy@reddit
For us, the insurance company declared it a total loss. As soon as everyone looked it over, insurance company sold it to a salvage yard so they could recover some of their funds.
TwoDucsInAPond@reddit
Eastern Airline Flight 401 .. IYKYK
Late-Mathematician55@reddit
I would assume the insurance company gets ownership of all of it; and they will dispose of it in whatever method recovers some of the money they paid out.
Waste_of_Bison@reddit
As of a few years ago, identifiable parts of Pennsylvania-Central 410 (a DC-4) were still on the hill it hit in 1947.
I'm not sure whether anyone has been up there more recently but I assume they're still quietly corroding up there.
Imaginary_Ganache_29@reddit
The Grand Canyon wreckage is viewable if you know where to look for it.
YamComprehensive7186@reddit
GA wrecks typically get sold at auction.
https://underwriterssalvagecompany.com
davihar@reddit
Ever hear about the airliner that had some avionics installed from a crashed jet? They started seeing ghosts in the cabin and cockpit during flights so reusing parts is a big NO for me.
Mattpudzilla@reddit
Did they aye?
MonorailBlack@reddit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Air_Lines_Flight_401
gefahr@reddit
It's funny how "ghost sightings" really just stopped being a thing people talked about, right around the time cell phone cameras became prevalent.
RatherGoodDog@reddit
No, I didn't actually. Could you cite the tail number?
1991atco@reddit
It depends on the authority etc. I know for certain that the AAIB in the UK have storage warehouses all over the country with wreckage dating back further than you'd think. All so that if a case gets reopened, they can reinvestigate the parts.
Bethventures@reddit
Recertified and put on other aircraft. See "ghost of flight 401” book/movie/incredibly awful song
BathFullOfDucks@reddit
dumped in a landfill and covered over with dirt most of the time. Parts salvage from the kind of crash where you are putting the plant back together in pieces in a hanger is only assosiated with criminality.
LPNTed@reddit
It depends on a lot of factors, and the legalities involved. It can be as simple as the municipality disposing of it as metal salvage and waste, to legal fights over what happens to the wreckage (including going to a museum) and who's responsible for paying for it.
Shadowrend01@reddit
Some parts are kept as training aides
If there are any salvageable parts, they’ll salvage them
Some parts might be put into long term storage for future reference
whatever they don’t want to hang on to is scrapped and recycled