Famous Sud SE-210 Caravelle VI-R Being Scrapped at KVNY (N94KT) 1 of 2

A sad day in this 50-year-old classic jet's life..

Today I was in the KVNY area for business, and stopped by the field to see what was up. Evidently VP-CBA (Boeing 732) is back in town, but that wasn't the star of the show.. as I rounded the area where VP-CBA is usually parked I witnessed a very sad sight.. N98KT was being gutted on the spot by scrappers. It looks like the time for her passing has finally come.

Those who aren't aware may be interested to know that this Caravelle was the last to fly commercially in the USA. She flew to KVNY in 1978, and never flew again. Sometime in the 1980s a group of people with all of the right equipment removed the engines over the course of a few days, and split.. everyone at the field thought they were being removed for overhaul. Turned out they were actually being stolen by a very professional-looking crew, never to be seen again.

She was used recently as a grounded billboard for the Lifetime channel, and has serves as a filming spot for a few television shows and movies over the years. Today, July 29, 2010 was her last day with wings. I spoke with the scrapping crew, and they were in the process of "making space" for the heavy equipment by chopping up the wings. I managed to get a lovely chunk of the rear-right forward elevator as my memento of this famous plane. They mentioned that there's still a day or 2 of work to be done before every last bit of her is gone (she's parked over by Clay Lacy's old retired VIP 727).

RIP Sud SE-210 Caravelle VI-R N98KT c/n 102.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Sud
• Caravelle
• SE-210
• VI-R
• N98KT
• Van Nuys
• VNY
• KVNY
• Airport
• Van Nuys Airport
• Airliner
• Jetliner
• Scrap
• Scrapped
• N94KT
• Lifetime

[hotelgulf]

There's some footage of N98KT in happier days during what looks to be an open house

On YTube. Why such a beautiful machine is wasted and not conserved is just baffling. I play the lottery every week in hopes of saving airliners like this....so far, no luck, but I WILL someday. Perhaps there might be a series 12 hidden in a hangar somewhere? :) Wish me luck!

[MrAirlineCrazy]

@hotelgulf I'll wish you luck!

[dcrockett52]

Sad indeed. As part of the crew for 98 Kilo Tango, I'd be happy to share some of the rich history as far as it's life at K&T We also owned the Vicars Viscount that was parked at CNO Chino . Great times for corporate aviation ! - Dave