02/17/2026
Before their time…but their time none the less!
In a hangar in Goodyear, Arizona, two Airbus A320neo jets that were carrying passengers just months ago are being ripped apart and sold for parts. The two aircraft, registered as N950NK and N959NK, are only four and three and a half years old. Both were built brand new at the Airbus factory in Mobile, Alabama. A commercial jet is designed to fly for 25 to 30 years. These two won't make it to their fourth birthday.
So why would anyone destroy a perfectly good airplane? Because right now, the parts inside these jets are worth more than the planes themselves. Both are powered by Pratt & Whitney's PW1100G engine, which has been hit by one of the worst engine crises in modern aviation. A manufacturing defect involving contaminated metal means over 800 aircraft worldwide are currently grounded waiting for repairs. A single spare engine is now worth over $22 million, meaning an A320neo can be worth more torn apart than in one piece.
Spirit Airlines is at the heart of this story. The airline filed for bankruptcy for the second time in August 2025 and has since returned 87 aircraft to leasing companies, cutting its fleet by more than half. Today, 85 of those jets sit parked in the Arizona desert. Industry analysts expect more A320neos to be scrapped in the months ahead. When airlines are waiting years for new planes and months for engine repairs, tearing apart a brand-new jet and selling it piece by piece has somehow become good business. That doesn't make it any less painful to watch.
