Teen Shares Rare Glimpse Of North Carolina Airplane Boneyard Full Of Rotting Classic Planes

A breathtaking look at classic planes in a field amongst overgrown grass and trees stunned the plane-spotting community, bringing back emotional memories and also frustration at the planes' conditions. YouTuber JW Aviation shared the shocking footage on his channel in August 2025, showing up-close looks at airplanes that were in service from the 1990s to 2010s. The footage largely showed Boeing aircraft, including the 747-100, 747-400, A300-600, and 737-300, but a McDonnell Douglas and Airbus were also mixed in. The Boeing 747 was discontinued in the 2020s due to a demand for smaller planes, but its legacy lives on as the Queen of the Skies. Seeing the 747s in such a state left plane enthusiasts heartbroken, but JW Aviation reassured his viewers that the planes are still used for training operations. 

The airplane boneyard in the video is part of the Laurenburg-Maxton Airport, located in North Carolina. This airport was initially built for the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II and has since been used to store airplanes for several airlines on its 1,800 acres. Between earlier in 2025 when JW Aviation first visited and later in August 2025, a few of the planes had been moved — but most of them remained in the same spot each time he's stopped by, hidden by foliage. No public access to the storage area is allowed, making JW Aviation's rare glimpse at the stunning collection all the more special. 

Airplanes can't be in the sky forever, and they need somewhere to go once they're not regularly used by a commercial airline. When this happens, airplanes end up at "airplane boneyards," a place where planes are temporarily stored, maintained, or even scrapped for parts and materials. The Laurenburg-Maxton Airport is for storage and salvage, with both of those operations managed by the Charlotte Aircraft Corporation. A lot of airplane boneyards are located in the desert for preservation reasons, so it's interesting to see the Queen of the Skies nestled between green foliage in North Carolina. 

Some of the largest boneyards have hundreds of planes, but the Laurenburg-Maxton Airport boneyard is a lot smaller. The exact number of airplanes is unknown, but with a smaller property than the larger boneyards, it's not storing nearly as many airplanes. While JW Aviation didn't see all of them, it didn't appear to be more than a handful. Still, even those few planes carry thousands of memories for plane enthusiasts who are just happy to see the older icons are still intact.