A former U.S. Air Force T-43, a Boeing 737 plane, once located at George Bush Intercontinental Airport and popular among urban explorers, is on the grounds no more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The training plane which sat on the airport property vacant and drew many questions from travelers, has been demolished and no longer exists on airport property, according to a release<\/a> from the Houston Airport System.\u00a0<\/p>\n “The decommissioned aircraft was obtained by the Houston Police Department in 2010 from the U.S. Department of Defense as part of the Texas 1033 Surplus Property Program<\/a>. HPD and regional law-enforcement agencies used the aircraft for tactical training at IAH,” according to the Monday release.<\/p>\n The training platform was used by HPD SWAT, Special Response Group, Bomb Squad and K-9 units.<\/p>\n After 37 years of military service, it was decommissioned and sent out of service.\u00a0HPD, in 2010 however, was the first law enforcement agency in the United States to be granted a decommissioned, fully functional aircraft from the Department of Defense.\u00a0<\/p>\n It was housed in an airplane “graveyard” in Arizona before officials with HPD and then-U.S. Rep. Ted Poe<\/a> brought it to Houston for police training.\u00a0<\/p>\n The aircraft has not been used for training in Houston in recent years and became\u00a0the target of unauthorized visits, vandalism and social-media posts, according to the airport system.\u00a0<\/p>\n Recently the plane was sold at an auction for demolition and recycling.\u00a0<\/p>\n