Where do planes go when they die? If they’re part of military history, they head to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group in Tuscon, Arizona. It’s a storage and repair site for military aircraft, but it’s also a final resting place where you can find dilapidated Polish fighter jets and broken missile rails about to be destroyed.
Photographer Matt York captured the eerie grace of used-up beasts of battle in a series of images for the Associated Press. Here are some of the most fascinating metal corpses:
US Navy Lockheed LC-130
Cause of death: Crashed during a resupply mission to Antarctica in 1971.
F-16 Fighting Falcons
Cause of death: Not dead! These will get turned into drone target planes somewhere down the line.
Army Sikorsky VH-34s Choctaw helicopter
Cause of death: Old age. This helicopter was once used to transport President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
TWA 840
Cause of death: Old age
Hijacked in 1969 by Palestinian extremists, this Boeing 707 is one of the only civilian aircraft in the boneyard. Even though the hijackers detonated a bomb in the cockpit, this old bird was actually put back into commission until 1980.
[AP]
Pictures: Matt York’s Military Aircraft Boneyard photo essay for the Associated Press