Planes With A Past, From Hijacking To War

First of two parts

When is a plane just too old to fly?

Nearly one-half of the world's commercial air fleet is more than 20 years old. And there is no government mandate in any country requiring airlines to retire their planes at any age.

Still, at remote airports in the Mojave desert in California, and in nearly forgotten airstrips in New Mexico, Nevada and Arizona, hundreds of planes from around the globe await an uncertain fate.

In many cases, the reasons these planes aren't flying have more to do with the state of the economy than the state of the aircraft.

A walk through the hot and dusty airline graveyards presents an often depressing open-air museum of airplane history.

But there are still a few dozen planes that really made a name for themselves that you won't find parked on any desert airstrip.

You may not recognize these particular aircraft, because most have been re-registered, repainted, and many now fly for other airlines.

But chances are you will remember them, because these aging flying machines are planes with a past. And, with few exceptions, these planes still regularly land at major airports around the world.

They range from planes that were hijacked by deranged passengers in Pakistan, damaged by terrorists in Beirut, or supposedly destroyed in the Afghan wars. There are planes that have nearly disintegrated in flight, made crash landings or have been in the spotlight for other reasons: the first 747, or the all-black Playboy "Bunny" jet.

Terrorism's victims

Herewith is a guide to some fascinating planes with a past:

TWA flight 847 departed Athens on June 14, 1985, with Capt. John Testrake in command. Shortly after takeoff, the 727 was hijacked by terrorists, and eventually forced to land at Beirut airport.

The hijacking lasted a total of 17 days, and resulted in the death of an American serviceman. The aircraft was TWA Boeing B727-231, registered as N64339.

The plane sustained serious, but not catastrophic, damage. Today you can find it flying throughout TWA's North American routes, and it still bears the same registration.

But when it comes to hijacked planes, no aircraft is more notorious than a 727 with the serial number 18803. On Nov. 24, 1971, a Northwest Airlines Boeing 727 was hijacked while operating a scheduled flight between Seattle and Portland. The flight had been hijacked by a man whose only known name has now become a legend: D.B. Cooper.

After taking off from Seattle, the captain was told by Cooper to lower the aft airstairs on the plane. Cooper then donned a parachute, grabbed a bag holding $200,000 in ransom money, and jumped into the night. He was never heard from or seen again. The aircraft was registered as N467US at the time of the hijacking.

The plane, which was built by Boeing in September, 1965, was later sold to Piedmont Airlines and registered as N838N, and then in September, 1984, it was sold to Savannah, Ga.-based Key Airlines.

The D.B. Cooper aircraft - now registered as N29KA - continued to fly for Key Airlines, on routes between Georgia, Newark, N.J., and the Caribbean, until Key filed for bankruptcy in 1993. The 727 is now temporarily grounded.

"We had a lot of fun with this plane," says Tom Daniels, Key's most recent chief pilot. "But we've also had a problem. For a long time, the pilots would . . . tell the passengers that they were flying on the D.B. Cooper plane. But then, after they'd land, the crew would discover parts of seats missing, seat cards stolen . . . exit signs ripped off."

A war casualty

Some planes with a past earned their place in history because they didn't survive a war . . . or did they?

Consider the bizarre case of the Afghanistan airline's DC-10. When Afghanistan was invaded by the Soviet Union, Arlana Afghan airlines operated a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 on its international route network. When the invasion took place, the aircraft continued to fly for the airline, often under some very hazardous conditions around the Kabul airfield. The aircraft remained unscathed until Sept. 21, 1984, when it was hit by explosive bullets from ground fire while making an approach into Kabul.

The plane, built by McDonnell Douglas in September, 1979 (the 291st production model of the plane), sustained substantial damage to the airframe and was grounded. In the middle of the fighting, a quiet deal was struck. In 1985, the DC-10 was sold - in its battered state - to British Caledonian Airlines. A special inspection team flew to Kabul, and a crew flew the damaged plane back to London, where extensive repairs were performed.

British Caledonian merged into British Airways in April 1988, and the aircraft flies today for British Airways with the registration marking G-MULI.

Next week:Part Two of "Planes with a Past," including some Vietnam veteran aircraft, and the fate of the notorious all-black Playboy "Bunny" jet.

Peter S. Greenberg's syndicated column appears occasionally in the Travel section. Send questions and comments to Peter S. Greenberg, c/o Travel Editor, Seattle Times, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111. Letters cannot be returned or individually answered.