A lonely Boeing is whitewashing

Residents of the west coast of Ireland last weekend could watch an unusual spectacle: a Boeing 797 of the Russian airline Transaero floating on the sea. A decommissioned 30-year-old plane was bought for 16 thousand pounds by a local businessman David McGowan. The Boeing was to become a hotel in the theme park owned by McGowan. The 50-tonne aircraft was taken by sea to its final resting place in Inishkron village, where it made the 36-hour journey by barge from Shannon airport. The authorities did not allow the Boeing to be transported by land: too many poles, wires and lights would have had to be removed, and the aircraft would have had to be lifted over two low bridges.