Time is running out to save a former Lufthansa Boeing 707. Hamburg Airport had canceled the planned removal of the aircraft, D-ABOD, to be scrapped and auctioned off in parts. However, a new date has now been arranged, putting a time limit on saving the aircraft for future generations.
The Boeing 707 was the aircraft that brought Germany's flag carrier Lufthansa into the jet age. However, the type is an aged one now, with the airline having long retired its fleet. Most aircraft no longer exist. However, one jet remains at Hamburg Airport for the time being.
Stay informed: Sign up for our daily and weekly aviation news digests.
Time is running out to save D-ABOD
D-ABOD is the registration of the Boeing 707 resting its wings in Hamburg. However, time is running out for the 61-year old plane. According to Hamburg Airport, the aircraft will be removed from the site between June 8th to 16th. This presents a definitive deadline for the group attempting to save the aircraft.
Once removed from the airport professionally, the old plane will be dismantled. Some parts will be sent to museums, some will be scrapped, and some will be auctioned off to interested parties. While the aircraft will continue to live on, this will be in small pieces inaccessible to many.
An airport spokesperson told Simple Flying,
"In order to find a solution and to be able to receive the 707 professionally, the airport was in very close contact with around a dozen interested parties for months - from individuals to aviation enthusiast initiatives to museums. Ultimately, however, no solution could be found.
Eight weeks remaining
Only eight weeks remain until the aircraft is removed from the airport to be dismantled. However, the Association for the Rescue of the Boeing 707 D-ABOD hasn't lost hope that the aircraft can still be saved.
In an email to Simple Flying, a representative of the bid to save the jet said,
"[We] tried to show the airport that you are going the wrong way with your project. Not even the haunting words that aviation history is being irretrievably destroyed here have made a difference... Who is served if part of the cockpit or the galley or a flap of the wing hangs on the wall in the basement of a wealthy bidder?"
The group remains convinced that it may still be possible to save the jet and wants to keep fighting to save the plane until the end. One plan being explored by the group is a temporary cement works that was created when an apron was previously renovated.
About the plane
D-ABOD was delivered to Lufthansa as a new aircraft in April of 1960. However, it spent only a quarter of its life ferrying passengers around Lufthansa's network. After 15 years, the aircraft became a training aid for Lufthansa Technik. It remained with the airline for a further 24 years teaching mechanics of the future.
As time went on, the plane's technology became more and more obsolete. Rather than scrapping it, Lufthansa sold the jet to Hamburg Airport for €1, where it has remained since as a film prop and museum piece. A second 707 in the Luftansa livery is also being scrapped.
Do you think D-ABOD should be saved? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.