What Happens to Aluminum and Titanium Airplane Fuselages That Fall Off of a Train? They Get Recycled–On the Spot

0boeingderailment-001.jpg

In terms of oh shit moments, this had to be a doozy for the train engineer. Last month nineteen cars on a 90-car train derailed in Montana. Some of those freight cars were carrying 737 fuselages on their way to Boeing, and six of them fell off, with three of them sliding down an embankment towards the Clark Fork River. Luckily no one was injured, and here’s what the aftermath looked like:

An accident like this raises a serious logistical issue: What the hell to do with these fuselages? It’s not like you can give six-packs to a couple guys named Jim and ask them to throw them back up onto the railcars. These things are loaded and unloaded with special equipment that bypassing rafters don’t exactly have tied to the backs of their Super Dutys.

0boeingderailment-002.JPG

(more…)

No Responses to “What Happens to Aluminum and Titanium Airplane Fuselages That Fall Off of a Train? They Get Recycled–On the Spot”

Post a Comment