Imagine this. You go to sleep one night and wake up to find a 747-400 parked in a nearby muddy field the next morning.
That’s what happened in Chai Nat, a rural part of Thailand about 200km north of Bangkok. Many villagers, most who had never been on an airplane before, thought the jumbo jet had made an emergency landing. The aircraft featured current Thai Airways livery.
Upon closer investigation, the villagers found the aircraft stripped of its engines and the cargo doors bolted shut. The aircraft had also been parked on concrete blocks, ostensibly to prevent it from sinking in the mud.
Turns out Somchai Phukieow, owner of the land the aircraft was parked on, had bought the aircraft at a local auction (for an undisclosed amount). The aircraft was delivered by truck, then lifted from a truck onto its final resting place by a crane.
Somchai hopes to turn the field into a recreational area and tourist attraction. He told the UK Daily Mail:
I would like to make a small attraction here, with a motor-cross track and a football pitch, so people can look inside the plane and watch the sports from inside, too.
The inside of the aircraft still features seating. The computer components and all engine parts have already been removed.
CONCLUSION
This reminds me of the man in Oregon who purchased a 727 to live in and later “upgraded” to a 747. I wish I had the space for a 747 in my backyard!
image: Aero Icarus / Flickr
I’ve seen this airplane. At the very least it was 4 years ago when we saw it. Nothing what so ever was online about it. Even in Thai. There is actually another one down near the airport in Pattaya. But if this is the same airplane it’s at the intersection of highway 346 and 375 northwest of BKK. Its on one of the routes you would take to the Erawan waterfall.
I would love to have one in my backyard too.
The man in Oregon who still lives in the 727 is still in planning phases to get a 747 and place it somewhere in Japan. He’s more recently gotten a lot more press due to his “Concerts on the Wing” series and even more recently a party in the woods that is happening mid-September, which I will be attending. If you decide to join I’ll save a spare ticket for you