The story of the abandoned Boeing 707 in Belgium

The Boeing 707 took to the skies on December 20, 1957, and has graced airport terminals and runways around the world for more than 65 years. This pioneering commercial jetliner became a high-profile hit with airlines large and small, but its appeal was not limited to commercial airlines.

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flight power

After officially entering service in 1958 with launch customer Pan American World Airlines, the 707 was flown by a variety of airlines including Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Continental Airlines, TWA, and Western Airlines, where the jet helped fly at high speeds . Expansion of domestic and international air travel. Within a few years, the 707 surpassed its competitor, the similarly configured Douglas DC-8, in orders.

During this pivotal era in aviation, the 707 attracted customers from all backgrounds, opening the skies to a wider audience and helping commercialize the tourism industry.

Boeing’s success is largely due to its ability to offer customers nearly bespoke variants, such as the large engines that support Qantas’ long-haul modes and Braniff’s hot and humid operations on its South American network. Despite posing a high financial risk to the manufacturer, the gamble paid off, and Boeing and the 707 quickly became part of the cultural zeitgeist of his late 1950s and early 1960s. Boeing explained:

“In just two years, the 707 will change the way the world travels. Air travel will eclipse travel by train and ship. A new era in travel begins with Boeing and the 707. The term became popular. Boeing was inundated with requests for the right to use “707” in product names. Jantzen’s swimsuits titled her 1957 collection “the 707.”

Private flight ready for takeoff

By the start of the 1980s, the 707 was a veteran aircraft comparable to the Boeing 757 and 767 currently in service. Some units had already changed hands multiple times as airlines replaced quadjets with newer, more fuel-efficient twinjets and trijets. This led to the Benin government acquiring his one aircraft designated for presidential use in the mid-1980s.

The aircraft, bearing registration number TY-BBW, was first delivered to Pan Am Airways in May 1961. This jet was phased out in his early 1970s, and a Boeing 747 jumbo replaced his jet, joining Lloyd International Airways in 1971, followed by a short stint with Bahama Ward. , Bahamas World, MCA, Southeast, Quantum, Enlightenment Age Aviation from the mid-1970s to the 1980s.

According to the Brussels Times, South Korean religious leader Myung Moon outfitted the hut with a gold bathtub, a private movie theater and a mahogany bed. The aircraft was owned by the state of Benin, but was grounded in 1990 at Belgium’s Ostend-Bruges International Airport (OST) due to safety concerns. The 707 was left there, racking up huge parking fees in the West African country for the next five years.

meet fate

In the mid-1990s, entrepreneur and politician Walter Govaardt moved the aircraft to an abandoned parking lot near Wettelen in East Flanders, Belgium, and deployed it as a training center for aircraft cleaners.

However, that second life did not last long. After some discussion, the local council decided that the owner did not have the proper documentation to park the plane on his land. After condemning this decision, “Childish and narrow-minded” Mr. Gowart chose to use two cranes to lift the 707 and move it to the roof of the Expo Gowart exhibition center in Wetteren.

As of 2024, TY-BBW remains part of the Center’s Transportation Museum, where it is displayed alongside the Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star trainer aircraft.

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Have you ever visited an abandoned Boeing 707 in Belgium? What do you think should be done with the aircraft? Let us know in the comments.