We have seen plenty of unusual uses for retired aircraft over the years – including hotels, homes,
and restaurants. One of the more surprising though has to be Turkey’s project to sink an
A330 in 30 meters of water to create an artificial reef. Similar previous projects
with smaller aircraft have proved popular, and it is hoped this will be a big draw for scuba divers.
The aircraft in question is an Airbus A330-300, last carrying the registration TC-OCB.
It was originally delivered new to Hong Kong airline Dragonair in 1995 and transferred to Onur
Air in 2010. It was retired in 2017, after almost 23 years in service.
Not uncommonly, there would have been little interest in the purchase of a widebody aircraft
at this age. Rather than being scrapped, or even converted to a freighter, TC-OCB was saved
in a joint project with Turkish authorities to sink the fuselage as an artificial reef.
This would attract sea life to form a reef, and with it tourists and scuba divers.
Financial contributions for this came from Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project
(Tanap). Reports indicate that the company paid around $100,000 for the A330 airframe.Any
post-retirement project for a large aircraft is usually logistically challenging.
So how then did the new owners go about getting this A330 to its underwater location?
The aircraft was stripped and dismantled in Antalya, Turkey by the Turkish firm SkyAir
Shop. As with any aircraft recycling, this would remove many parts that could be reused or resold,
as well as components that could be harmful to the marine environment.
The result was a mostly empty airframe, with seats and galley components, cabling and
electronic and all flight instruments removed. By March 2019, this work was complete,
and the aircraft was ready for transport to sea. The airframe was transported by six road
trucks from Antalya to the northern port town of Ibrice in the northwestern Edirne province.
After some re-assembly at the port, it was floated out around half a mile into
the sea. This took place with a special launch ceremony on June 14th 2019. To sink the aircraft,
floats supporting it were carefully deflated, allowing it to submerge. According to local media,
it took around four hours for the aircraft to completely sink below the surface.
Acting as a diving and tourism attraction, the fuselage has been purposely sunk in an ideal
30 meters of water. The first dives took place just the day after the aircraft was sunk.
The deputy governor of the province explained to local media that whilst an
ordinary tourist may generate an income of between $500 and 600, a tourist coming for scuba diving
generates between $2,000 and $3,000. Making the project a potentially worthwhile investment!
Incredible as this new reef and tourist attraction is, it is far from the first
of its kind. The A330 joins several other aircraft in different locations in Turkish water.
Indeed, an Airbus A300 was sunk in 2016, and a Douglas DC-2 was sunk in 2009.
It is also not the biggest aircraft submerged. In Bahrain, a Boeing 747 was sunk in 2019
to form the centerpiece of an underwater eco-park. This opened to divers soon after.
Have you ever gone, or would you ever go diving, in an old aircraft? Let us know in the comments.