Used serviceable materials from aircrafts

Used Serviceable Materials (USMs), which are taken out of abandoned aircraft and are installed in active commercial aircraft, are experiencing a high demand worldwide, according to a report published in New India Express by C. Shivakumar.Chennai could soon become the hub for dismantling aircraft as parts harvested in the city from abandoned aircraft are being sold to refurbish other aircraft around the world. “The market is huge,” said Pandian Sokku, managing director of Chennai-based maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) company Nano Aviation India Pvt Limited. Dismantling of Boeing 777 plane was the first contract and handled seven aircrafts and getting more orders.

Used Serviceable Materials (USMs), which are taken out of abandoned aircraft and are installed in active commercial aircraft, are experiencing a high demand worldwide owing to their ability to lower the maintenance cost. Notably, several MRO providers around the world are extensively using USMs owing to a rising number of aging aircraft. As such, a majority of aircraft spares in the market are recycled ones, says the report. According to Chennai Airport Director Dr Sharad Kumar,there are two categories of aircraft — one that is turned into scrap due to its being grounded for long and the another, recoverable. Recently, the Airport Authority of India auctioned four F-27 aircraft of the erstwhile NEPC Airlines. Scrap dealers bought these planes, continues the report; An B-77-300 ER, grounded by the erstwhile Jet Airways for over a year and belonging to the second category, however, was dismantled by Nano Aviation. There were also seven ATR 72-500 aircraft of the King Fisher Airlines, grounded since 2012.Three of them have been attached by the excise department for non-payment of taxes. Of the four aircraft, two have been purchased by Nano Aviation.