Boeing 747-400 Global Super Tanker
The 747 Supertanker is an aerial firefighting aircraft based on a Boeing 747 widebody aircraft. Initially developed by Evergreen International Aviation, the first Supertanker was based on a 747-200 (N470EV, tanker/tail number 947), and never entered service. The second Supertanker (N479EV, tanker/tail number 979) was based on a 747-100 originally manufactured by Boeing in 1971 for Delta Air Lines. It entered service for the first time in 2009, fighting a fire in Cuenca, Spain, and made its first American operation on 31 August 2009 at the Oak Glen Fire. On 31 December 2013, Evergreen International Airlines filled a Chapter 7 petition in federal bankruptcy court in Delaware, USA with all of the assets (including all 747 airframes) subsequently sold to a parts salvage re-seller, Jet Midwest Aviation. On July 12th, 2017, tail number 979 was intentionally destroyed for salvage at Pinal Airpark, in Marana, AZ.