On Monday, the Biden administration seized an aircraft used by Nicolás Maduro, as part of an ongoing plan of applying pressure to the Venezuelan president to respect human rights, release political prisoners and, ultimately, let go of his stronghold on the South American country after his self-acclaimed July 28 election victory which has been questioned by a vast majority of countries.
The seized aircraft, a Dassault Falcon 900EX, is valued at approximately $13 million and is one of the most luxurious corporate jets in the world. The Falcon 900EX is an improved version of the Falcon 900 (commonly known as the F900), a French-built corporate trijet aircraft made by Dassault Aviation.
The Dassault Falcon 900 was developed from the original Falcon 20 and Falcon 50, which were designed for the French military. The fuselage was made longer and wider, and the cabin more comfortable, enabling 12 to 14 passengers to travel.
The EX is is typically outfitted with three cabin zones and has a range of 4,500 nm. There were 118 produced between 1995 and 2003 according to Guardian Jet, a guide for airplane buyers.
Perhaps the most famous fleet of EX series jets belongs to the Italian air force, which operates five of them since 2005. Another famous Falcon EX belonged to the government of Malawi until 2013, when they sold it for $15 million to raise cash for the impoverished African country. As for celebrities, the list of EX owners includes Jeff Bezos, who sold it back in 2015 for a brand-new Gulfstream G650ER and Belgian-Dutch F1 driver Max Verstappen, who has a unique matt black and orange model since 2020.
As for the more classic Dassault Falcon 900, the list of owners and previous owners includes a who's who of names, including dictators, business moguls and music stars. Below is a list of some of the most famous people who've called the F900 their ride:
- French Air and Space Force
- Government of Angola
- South African Air Force
- Royal Malaysian Air Force
- The Belgian government
- French Air and Space Force
- The Greek government owned one until the country's foreign minister as well as 5 others were killed in a freak flight incident back in 1999
- The Spanish air and space force operates 5. The plane is rumored to be president Pedro Sanchez' favorite plane
- The government of Sudan
- Syrian president Bashar al-Assad owns one, valued at $43.3 million
- Taylor Swift owned one until earlier this year. The aircraft was valued at an estimated $44 million. The decision to sell the F900 coincided with the growing public awareness of the carbon footprint associated with private jet travel, for which Swift infamously became the poster child after a 2022 analysis by Yard labeled Swift as the "biggest celebrity (carbon dioxide) polluter."
- Elon Musk's first jet was an F900 which he bought before he became a billionaire. According to Jet Finder, he sold it back in 2006
- Country star Kenny Chesney
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