• News
    • Tech News
    • AI
  • Gadgets
    • Apple
    • iPhone
  • Gaming
    • Playstation
    • Xbox
  • Science
    • News
    • Space
  • Streaming
    • Netflix
  • Vehicles
    • Car News
  • Social Media
    • WhatsApp
    • YouTube
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
TikTok
Snapchat
WhatsApp
Submit Your Content
Most fascinating US airport that lies in the middle of nowhere is now home to apocalyptical aircraft boneyard

Home> News

Updated 11:37 6 Aug 2024 GMT+1Published 14:52 2 Aug 2024 GMT+1

Most fascinating US airport that lies in the middle of nowhere is now home to apocalyptical aircraft boneyard

The site no longer allows visitors.

Rebekah Jordan

Rebekah Jordan

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.

Advert

Sean Justice/Getty
Sean Justice/Getty

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.

Google Earth
Google Earth

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.

Featured Image Credit: Sean Justice/Getty / Google Earth
Travel
Plane News
World News

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • Another airline becomes latest to impose harsh restrictions on common item most of us carry on
  • $20,000,000,000 'floating' Japanese airport located in the middle of the ocean is sinking rapidly
  • Radically designed new aircraft that 'blends' plane wings into body has been purchased by Canadian airline
  • TSA make major security change at select US airports that is a massive time saver

Choose your content:

14 hours ago
17 hours ago
19 hours ago
  • ARTEM GEODAKYAN / Contributor / Getty
    14 hours ago

    Woman who lived in North Korea for two years reveals eerie 'unspoken rules' you have to live by

    Some behaviours are followed without ever being explained

    News
  • Aleksandr Zubkov via Getty
    14 hours ago

    Dietitian reveals 'little-known' supplements that work like Ozempic by mimicking GLP-1s

    Time to check the back of your cupboards

    Science
  • Diary of a CEO / YouTube
    17 hours ago

    Ex-CIA intelligence officer breaks down exactly what your phone is listening to and it's seriously scary

    You might want to be more careful from now on

    News
  • STEFAN JERREVANG / Contributor via Getty
    19 hours ago

    Bill Gates and OpenAI back $50,000,000 deal that could be a game-changer for the health of an entire continent

    AI could transform the health of several African countries

    News