Two Nearly New Boeing 737 MAX Jets Are Being Scrapped In The Arizona Desert After Just Months In Service

Brazilian airline GOL returned two nearly new Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft after just a few months. They’ve been flown to the Arizona desert and appear to be the first 737 MAXs intentionally being scrapped. Both o the planes reportedly suffered “chronic factory problems” involving their LEAP-1B engines and had center of gravity issues. If it were just engine issues, it’s not clear the planes would be getting parted out. Plane one: Registered PS-GRM first flew July 25, 2025. It was delivered September 17, and stopped normal service at the beginning of February 2026. Plane two: Registered PS-GRN first flew October 9, 2025. It was delivered November 11, and stopped normal service at the beginning of February as well. The two planes each spent just a few months in service and then sat at Belo Horizonte for about seven weeks before being returned to their lessor. So it seems that what’s going on is: Chronic problems originating at the factory. Trouble involving their CFM LEAP-1B engines. A center-of-gravity problem. Higher maintenance time and operating costs as a result. Problems serious enough that GOL decided not to keep them. A planned dismantling at Pinal Airpark in Arizona. On February 9, while the aircraft were still at Belo Horizonte, there was reporting that the two planes were performing below expectations and spending more time in the hangar than comparable aircraft. In May it was reported that a parts company had acquired two approximately one-year-old 737 MAXs for teardown, describing them as the first MAX aircraft to enter the part out market. The lessor is now advertising “first-to-market” 737 MAX material from low-utilization aircraft. The planes are being described as coming from a “problematic batch” but that doesn’t look right – they were produced over 100 planes apart from each other (line number 9264 and 9370). Topics on this page