Left Seat: What Really Kills Airplanes

J. Mac McClellan

Thursday, October 08, 2009 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Boeing B-52

Key Takeaways:

Many airplanes demonstrate extraordinary longevity, with age itself rarely being the primary reason for their retirement.
The ultimate factor determining an airplane's operational life is the economic viability of keeping it flying, weighed against maintenance and preservation costs.
For jets and working aircraft, economic pressures include operational expenses, fuel efficiency, regulatory changes, and calendar-based maintenance that accrues even when inactive.
General aviation piston aircraft are particularly vulnerable to lack of use, as it often leads to improper storage and damage that makes restoration economically unfeasible, especially during downturns.

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Airplanes can live such extraordinary lives; it seems that many will never die. Martha Lunken reminds us frequently that 70-year-old DC-3s are still flying and working for a living. The B-52 bombers are often twice the age of their pilots but the old Boeing flies on. And 50-year-old Bonanzas are not exactly rare.

The remarkable restorations we see every year at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, prove that an airplane’s life does not have to end because of old age. The number of flyable warbirds, all more than 60 years old, grows, not shrinks, every year. The same is true for other rare antique airplanes. But some airplanes do not enjoy such longevity. What is it that eventually kills off most airplanes while allowing a chosen few to fly on? The answer is a battle between economics and love of the airplane.