When a widebody freighter reaches the end of its economic life, the airframe stops being an aircraft and starts being an inventory. This spring our Austin team completed a full teardown of a Boeing 767-300ER that had flown just over 112,000 hours across three operators, and the project is a good illustration of how we approach disassembly work.
Planning the harvest
Before a single panel came off, our technical records team spent six weeks reconciling the aircraft's maintenance history. Every rotable we planned to recover had to be matched to its most recent shop visit, life-limited parts were checked against remaining cycles, and anything with an incomplete back-to-birth trace was flagged for scrap rather than resale.
- 1,412 components tagged for recovery, including both engines and the APU
- 96 line-replaceable avionics units routed to our repair partners for bench test
- Landing gear assemblies removed intact and shipped for overhaul
- Full non-incident statement and trace package prepared for every serviceable item
Disassembly on the ramp
The physical teardown took eleven working days. Engines were removed first, followed by the APU, flight controls, and the interior. Our crews work from the same removal task cards an airline MRO would use, which keeps part condition consistent and makes the paperwork straightforward when the components re-enter service.
"The value is not in the metal. It's in the records. A part with a clean trace is worth ten without one." — Teardown project lead, Reliance Aircraft International
What happens to the parts
Recovered components move into our Austin warehouse, where they are inspected, photographed, and listed with their trace documentation. Many of the high-demand rotables, such as the fuel pumps, hydraulic actuators, and cabin pressure controllers, were committed to customers before the teardown was finished.
If you operate a 767 fleet and want to discuss availability from this program, our team is ready to help. Request a quote or contact us directly.
Keep reading
More updates
Events
Meet Us at MRO Americas 2026 in Dallas
Reliance Aircraft International will be exhibiting at MRO Americas, April 28–30 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. Here is where to find us and what we will be talking about.
News
Reliance Renews Honeywell Authorized Channel Partner Agreement
Our multi-year renewal with Honeywell Aerospace extends authorized distribution of avionics, mechanical, and electrical product lines to commercial and military customers across the Americas.