A former passenger jet has been found in ruins at Bangkok’s bizarre Boeing 747 graveyard – where planes appear to go to die.
These images capture the eerie aeroplane boneyard where three planes, a huge Boeing 747 and two McDonnell Douglas MD-82s, have been left to rot.
The pair of MD-82 jetliners, formerly operated by Orient Thai Airlines, are now at the mercy of the elements in Bangkok after a business venture to use them as a bar failed.
Wrecked: Eerie images and remains of Bangkok’s bizarre Boeing 747 graveyard – where planes appear to go to die
These images capture the corpses of the abandoned areoplanes on the aeroplane boneyard
Lost: The inside of a huge Boeing 747 captured by 35-year-old Claudio Sieber, photographer from Switzerland
Abandoned: Aeroplane boneyard where three planes, a huge Boeing 747 and two McDonnell Douglas MD-82s, have been left to rot for no apparent reason
Sieber explains: ‘I decided to go to the plane graveyard around sunset to catch a better light and shadow composite’
The former passenger jets lie in ruins at Bangkok tourist site and locals who live nearby charge tourists to access the ghostly site
The wasteland, which is situated in Ramkhamhaeng, eastern Bangkok, is occupied by several poor Thai families who live in small sheds next to the wreckages and act as gatekeepers – charging tourists to access the ghostly site.
Claudio Sieber, a Nomadic explorer and photographer from Switzerland said: ‘I’m not really interested in tourist maps, instead I prefer to spend my time urban exploring off the beaten track.
‘I decided to go to the plane graveyard around sunset to catch a better light and shadow composite.
‘When approaching the gate, the family conquering the sight there told me to come back the next day so I circled the yard to find a hidden way in.
‘For me, illegal admittance plays a certain role in urban exploring. Even though, it’s not a big deal to pretend one doesn’t know about the rules, I could explore the sight by myself with a bit of an adrenaline rush.’
Sieber says: ‘I’m not really interested in tourist maps, instead I prefer to spend my time urban exploring off the beaten track’
The inside of the Boeing 747 captured by Claudio Sieber, a Nomadic explorer and photographer from Switzerland
The wasteland, which is situated in Ramkhamhaeng, eastern Bangkok, is occupied by several poor Thai families who live in small sheds next to the wreckages and act as gatekeepers
In March last year, 36-year-old Bangkok-based photographer Dax Ward also visited the unconventional site, frequently visited by tourists, to take a peek inside the stripped MD-82 jetliners.
Mr Ward, a technology teacher who refers to his photography as a hobby, explains: ‘The planes were supposedly placed there few years ago by a foreign investor who wanted to create a special outdoor bar using the fuselage as a stage for the bands and service rooms for the bar crew.
‘The project was a fiasco and the foreign investor left the site as it is.
‘As far as I know, there are currently no plans to move them, although the land upon which they rest is quite expensive.’
The pair of MD-82 jetliners were formerly operated by Orient Thai Airlines and are now cut into sections
The MD-82 jetliners, formerly operated by Orient Thai Airlines, are now at the mercy of the elements in Bangkok after a business venture to use them as a tourist attraction failed
In March last year, 36-year-old Bangkok-based photographer Dax Ward visited the unconventional site to take a peek inside the stripped aeroplanes
As the registration numbers of the two planes have been painted over, it is hard to decipher when the planes were operated or retired.
The interiors of the plane have been mostly stripped away to reveal the bare bones of the giant crafts, but the carpeting, overhead bins and bathrooms remain intact.
Echoing the destruction of a plane crash, oxygen masks, safety manuals and other debris are also scattered about the hollowed out craft.
Echoing the destruction of a plane crash, oxygen masks, safety manuals and other debris are also scattered about the hollowed out craft
Mr Ward explains: ‘The planes were supposedly placed there few years ago by a foreign investor who wanted to create a special outdoor bar using the fuselage as a stage for the bands and service rooms for the bar crew
‘It is very eerie in the graveyard,’ he says.
‘There are children’s toys and other personal objects scattered around, left by people who have stayed there for whatever reason, almost making it feel like a crash site.
‘In Thai culture places like this are often seen as haunted, even if no one has actually passed away at the location.’
Visiting tourists are charged 300 baht (£6.60) per person and the site is looked after by a lady who lives on the site with her extended family in some converted fuselages.
Ward added: ‘Thailand is a country that flourishes with culture, and such dynamic cultures tend to also include a deeply-rooted spiritual dimension.
‘It’s is filled with ghost stories and superstitions regarding spirits and locations which are haunted by them.’
Mr Ward said: ‘The project was a fiasco and the foreign investor left the site as it is – as far as I know, there are currently no plans to move them, although the land upon which they rest is quite expensive’
The interiors of the plane have been mostly stripped away to reveal the bare bones of the giant crafts, but the carpeting, overhead bins and bathrooms remain intact
Visiting tourists are charged 300 baht per person and the site is looked after by a lady who lives on the site with her extended family in some converted fuselages
He added: ‘These can arise from someone actually dying on the site, especially from a violent self-inflicted death, or because they believe there are ghosts residing there to protect the place.
‘These beliefs of a haunting can also arise simply because a place looks scary, which is why I think the graveyard would have such an image.’
Exploring supposedly haunted places might be too much to handle alone for some explorers, but Dax says he finds the experience almost meditative.
‘I’m pretty happy exploring alone. Sometimes my girlfriend comes along with me and either takes photos herself or models.
‘I think, although I really enjoy her company, being completely alone in certain places can be meditative and peaceful.
‘Also, there is usually someone hanging around the locations, be it human or animal, so I am rarely completely alone.’
Mr Ward said: ‘In Thai culture places like this are often seen as haunted, even if no one has actually passed away here’
He describes Thailand as being ‘filled with ghost stories and superstitions regarding spirits and locations which are haunted by them’
He adds: ‘These beliefs of a haunting can also arise simply because a place looks scary, which is why I think the plane graveyard would have such an image’
Delving into the depths of the aeroplanes was a refreshing experience for the photographer, who reflected on the rarity of the opportunity to see inside one.
He said: ‘I’m not familiar with aeronautical design so it is interesting for me to see the different levels in the plane and to get a sense of it’s actual size.
‘It is a truly impressive feat in engineering and physics that allows for such large, heavy objects to be propelled through the sky at high speeds.
‘Those of us that travel regularly get so used to aeroplane transit that we sometimes forget all that is involved in a single flight.’
Mr Ward notes: ‘It is a truly impressive feat in engineering and physics that allows for such large, heavy objects to be propelled through the sky at high speeds’
Delving into the depths of the aeroplanes was a refreshing experience for the photographer, who reflected on the rarity of the opportunity to see inside one