Main event in Shelton
Written by Sunny Manary Thursday, 14 July 2011 05:52
A 737 airliner landed at Sanderson Field Wednesday afternoon amid the watchful eyes of excited Shelton residents. An aircraft, formerly a Southwest Airlines plane landed approximately 3:30 p.m. brought in by Aero Controls Inc.,
an FAA certified repair station company headquared in Auburn, WA. The company was running 727s through Sanderson Field in 1992 through 1998, but haven't had an airplane to dismantle in some time.
"We're excited to have them back in town," Port of Shelton Executive Director John Dobson said. The business itself has never left," Dobson explained. They have a 75,000 square foot building that has been operational with parts.
About two years ago, a contract was signed to bring 737s into town, but the contract was cancelled due to FAA involvement. They found airplanes with undocumented parts, Dobson said. They lost everything. This is the start of something that will hopefully, grow into something bigger. "And this is the first one."
After so many hours of flight time, planes must be grounded and inspected, Dobson said. What the airlines do is A-B-C-D checks. This particular plane was going through a C and D check where the entire plane is stripped of paint on the outside and then the inside is gutted. "They're looking for corosion," he said.
The planes are then sold to various companies around the world. A report out of, "The London Times," said between 600 and 700 aircraft per year, will be dismantled over the next 15 years. "It doesn't mean a lot of the parts aren't good," Dobson said, what Aero Controls will do is recycle those parts. The engines and specific parts will go back to use on other planes.
All the parts that come off the planes that can be reused will be inspected, shelved, and put away for reuse. The shell of the plane will be crushed up, melted and eventually will create a whole new aircraft. "In someways, I guess you can say it's a pretty much a 'green' airplane!" Dobson said.
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Comments
I sure would want to live in one of those homes. NOT!
It's not like it's going to be another Sea-Tac. This will be sporadic (not everyday.) This is something exciting for our tiny town- relax and enjoy it.