This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit this page.
One of the awesome features of Burning Man the past three years has been a Boeing 747 hauled into the playa in ever-growing pieces by the Big Imagination camp. In 2016, the art piece started as just the top two passenger decks of the front of the 747. Since then, the camp’s volunteers have expanded it each year.
This year, the camp prepared a giant section of its 747 — complete with landing gear — as its festivity stage. After a massive operation to tow it into the desert, it was the center of attention as the largest “art car” of Burning Man 2018:
However, things haven’t gone so smoothly since the end of the festival. Whether it’s lack of funding to move the airplane or lack of appropriate storage space for the jumbo jet, the 747 has sat in the Black Rock Desert ever since. The catch: It’s not in “Black Rock City” — the location of Burning Man — but 12 miles farther into the desert.
It was found a few days ago by a private pilot, who decided to stop by and pay a visit:
The owner of the land where it’s sitting — the U.S. Bureau of Land Management — isn’t thrilled about the plane’s unauthorized move or its de facto storage location. While the 747 was allowed on the playa as part of the Burning Man recreation permit, that permit has now expired and the BLM considers it trespassing.
Rudy Evenson, acting communications chief of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in Nevada, didn’t mince words when he spoke with the Reno Gazette Journal:
It was moved off the event site without BLM authorization. So its legal status is in trespass with unauthorized use. Bottom line is, we’re evaluating options for getting rid of it.
The Big Imagination camp now says it plans to “move it to a permanent location nearby,” but it seems that moving the plane 12 miles from the event site might have been the organization’s temporary solution for saving money for both storage and transport. After all, moving the 747 means disassembling it into pieces and transporting it 500 miles down highways — requiring police escorts, road closures and disconnected power lines.
The organization reportedly has private property nearby that it can use to store the piece until next year, but the BLM spokesperson notes that “there’s no road between the playa and this piece of private property where they’re proposing to put the vehicle.” Building a road isn’t possible due to it being a National Conservation Area.
Without going into detail the BLM says “everything is on the table as far as removing it,” with their preference that the Big Imagination camp remove it completely. And, for the sake of the awesome art piece, we hope it survives until next year.
H/T: Reno Gazette Journal
Featured image by Dustin Mosher via Instagram.
Know before you go.
News and deals straight to your inbox every day.
WELCOME OFFER: 60,000 Points Terms Apply.
TPG'S BONUS VALUATION: $1,200
CARD HIGHLIGHTS: Delta Sky Club and Centurion lounge access, $200 annual airline fee credit and up to $200 in Uber credits annually
- Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® points after you use your new Card to make $5,000 in purchases in your first 3 months.
- Enjoy Uber VIP status and free rides in the U.S. up to $15 each month, plus a bonus $20 in December. That can be up to $200 in annual Uber savings.
- 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel.
- 5X Membership Rewards points on prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com.
- Enjoy access to the Global Lounge Collection, the only credit card airport lounge access program that includes proprietary lounge locations around the world.
- Receive complimentary benefits with an average total value of $550 with Fine Hotels & Resorts. Learn More.
- $200 Airline Fee Credit, up to $200 per calendar year in baggage fees and more at one qualifying airline.
- Get up to $100 in statement credits annually for purchases at Saks Fifth Avenue on your Platinum Card®. Enrollment required.
- $550 annual fee.
- Terms Apply.
- See Rates & Fees
Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
Disclaimer: The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
