Officials demand removal of Boeing 747 still in Black Rock Desert after Burning Man

Levi Bernard for Business
Insider

• A hollowed-out Boeing 747, which was used as an art
  installation during Burning Man, is still in the middle of the
  Nevada desert. 
• Since 2016, the plane has been hauled more than 500
  miles to its destination in the Black Rock Desert for the
  annual Burning Man festival. There, it serves as an art
  installation, an open-air nightclub, and a “mutant
  vehicle.”
• This year, however, the plane hasn’t been moved out of
  the Black Rock Desert. The owner, Big Imagination Camp, says
  the plane is being moved to private property nearby, but the
  terrain is proving difficult. 
• The US Bureau of Land Management currently considers
  the plane to be trespassing, as its original recreation permit
  issued for Burning Man has expired. 

The annual Burning Man festival, a
notoriously surreal festival that draws tens of thousands of
attendees, operates under the principle of “leaving no trace”
— which means that attendees should leave the Black Rock Desert,
where the festival is held, as they found it.

One obstacle to this principle is a hollowed-out Boeing 747
airplane currently parked in the middle of the Nevada desert two
weeks after Burning Man, the
Reno Gazette Journal reports. 

The plane is an art installation, nightclub, and “mutant vehicle”
during the festival, but now it’s a headache for the Bureau of
Land Management and the owners of the airplane, Big Imagination
Camp.

Since 2016, the plane has been hauled 500 miles to its
destination at Burning Man, then hauled back. However, this year
the plans changed slightly. Big Imagination Camp decided to bring
the plane to nearby private property so future transportation to
and from the festival is easier.

Rough terrain caused problems for the team towing the plane, and
it’s currently parked in the middle of the desert. 

The US Bureau of Land Management considers the plane
“trespassing,” as the original recreation permit issued for
Burning Man has expired, according to Rudy
Evenson, acting communications chief of the U.S. Bureau of
Land Management in Nevada. 

“It was moved off the event site without BLM authorization.
So its legal status is in trespass with unauthorized
use,” Evenson said to the Reno Gazette.”Bottom line is,
we’re evaluating options for getting rid of it.”

Ken Feldman, CEO of Big Imagination Camp, says the
company is working on removing the plane from the desert, but the
rough and uneven terrain has slowed down the
process. 

Read the full report from the Reno Gazette Journal
here.

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