Man explores Arizona boneyard with hundreds of abandoned airplanes including Boeing 747s and discovers why photography is strictly restricted

There’s a boneyard in Arizona where hundreds of aircraft, including several Boeing 747s, are retired and scrapped.

The facility is not exactly top secret, but photography is still restricted.

This simple rule applies to several facilities.

But the reason why it applies here is a lot less sinister than people might assume.

This place is called Pinal Airpark

Pinal Airpark in Marana, Arizona is a very large scrapyard where hundreds of retired airplanes from around the world are stored and dismantled.

There are several boneyards in Arizona and other states with large deserts because this type of climate mitigates corrosion of the aircraft.

There are several aircraft here, including several Boeing 747s formerly operated by Cathay, Delta Air Lines, and even Japan’s ANA.

Several Airbus and Boeing aircraft operated by the recently-deceased Spirit Airlines are also parked here.

There are no Area 51-style secrets here, and nearly all of these aircraft are civilian, and yet photography is generally strictly prohibited or at the very least controlled.

As YouTuber Ice711 explained in the video, there’s nothing sinister behind it.

Why photography is restricted at Pinal Airpark

Put simply, airlines want to keep full control over what’s shown.

Seeing these iconic airliners in a dilapidated state could be considered a poor reflection of the brands and companies that once operated them, which is why most of the airfield remains off-limits for photography during tours.

“Aircraft owners and operators don’t really want images of their scrapped and broken up jets circulating the internet,” the YouTuber pointed out.

“I was technically only allowed to film these 747s [but the] tour director also made sure to note that technically anything I could see from outside the fence was [also] fair game for photography.

There’s so much more than a few Boeing 747s

While most of these aircraft are ‘conventional’ airliners such as the 747, there are also a few stars.

Among others, the creator spotted a German Air Force A340 and a McDonnell Douglas DC-10s.

Then there are several other Boeings, including a few 777s, 767s, and 737s, and even a Vultee BT-13 Valiant, a half-forgotten WWII trainer aircraft.

But the real star of the show is – or perhaps we should say ‘was’ – a Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress.

During the Cold War, when the airpark secretly operated as a front for the CIA, a modified B-17G based here flew covert missions.

While you won’t spot its remains on a modern tour, this legendary piece of Pinal history wasn’t scrapped; it was saved, restored, and now lives safely on display at a museum in Oregon.