Pic(k) of the week 25: THIS IS NOT A CRASH - Abandoned planes
As a pilot, it is always sad to see an aircraft not fly anymore, but with todays Covid-19 crisis and thousands of aircraft presently still being grounded, it has become much more common than before. Seeing an aircraft broken up in bits and pieces in an urban neighborhood however is still a relatively rare occurrence!
A while ago I saw an image of a partially disassembled Antonov AN-2, the worlds largest biplane made in Russia, at an undisclosed location in the UAE. After some extensive research I eventually found the aircraft and went out to make a few images as well. Before people ask me where to find it, I can assure you that doing the research yourself and eventually finding it is much more rewarding than just being told where to go! Beside I do not want tens of photographers disturbing a neighborhood which is normally relatively quiet.
Looking at the history of the airframe, it looks like it was last registered as LY-ADP (Lithuania) and seems to be left behind at the old disused Umm Al Qwain airport for a number of years, before it was moved to its undisclosed new location now. To me, it very much looked like a film set and wouldn’t surprise me that it was part of some recent movie production.
Image details: Rather than giving the individual EXIF data for all three images, I’ll share the following info:
- Both landscape images were shot using Classic Chrome with the Fujifilm GFX 50R and the new GHF45-100 lens.
- The vertical shot was made with the Fujifilm X-100V.
- Images have not been edited except for a some minor cropping; all Straight Out Of Camera (SOOC).
Rather than posting a single image, I decided to share a series of three, as this does tell the story a little better. In one of the images there is even a hint where to start looking for the location...
More abandoned planes I shot over the years, can be found in the gallery here.
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