Featured Image Credit: Sean Justice/Getty / Google Earth
A South Carolina airport was once bustling with people, with three functioning runways, and is now nothing more than a plane graveyard.
Laurinburg-Maxton Airport was constructed during World War II for use by the United States Army Air Force.
The locals purchased a square mile of land and leased it to the federal government for $10 million which could reportedly hold 10,000 men. It was then used by the U.S. Army Air Force for glider training.
After the War ended in 1945, the army no longer needed the base and handed it back to the local community which is where it found new uses.
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From the 1960s up until the 1990s, the North Carolina Highway Patrol used it as a training ground for car chase exercises.
Charlotte Aircraft also operated on the grounds of Laurinburg-Maxton. Charlotte was founded in 1953 by Jenks Caldwell Sr. who had plans to put planes back together instead of deconstructing them.
Although they were based in Charlotte, they did much of their work at this site, buying old jetliners and dismantling them for valuable parts like doors and engines, which were then sold back to airlines.
One 747 had its front section removed and sent to the Smithsonian for display.
The airport is in Scotland County, which is smack dab in the middle of Charlotte and Wilmington, and is a two-hour drive from each.
For years, people have been allowed to enter the airport and see the boneyard for themselves.
But they put a halt to this in 2017 when the company feared some visitors were coming with intentions of stealing parts or vandalising the planes.
If you're curious about what the boneyard looks like now, you'll have to rely on eerie images online. Or you can just drive around the outside of the place and try and peek through the surrounding fences.
The most prominent picture is the satellite views from Google Maps, take a look for yourself.
The apocalyptical images show planes scattered across the airport and look left for dead.
Nowadays, the airport also hosts the Golden Knights, the U.S. Army's parachute team.
In 2020, the authority which runs the airport announced plans to extend one of the runways from 2,000 feet to 8,500 feet to accommodate bigger planes.
