A Boeing 747 that once belonged to heavy metal band Iron Maiden landed at an airport near Bristol on Tuesday, April 19. The band famously used the plane during their 2016 Book of Souls tour, and lead singer Bruce Dickinson, who is a qualified pilot, often took the helm.
And the Air Atlanta Icelandic Boeing 747-400 TF-AAK was spotted landed at Cotswolds Airport on Tuesday, reported Gloucestershire Live. The famous jet, nicknamed 'Ed Force One' in honour of the band's mascot, has an interesting history.
It was specially adapted to hold the band's music equipment on tour, and it was instantly recognisable for its Iron Maiden logo. The aircraft has flown all over the globe, visiting places such as New Zealand, Canada, Tokyo, Brazil.
In Chile, the aircraft once hit a towing truck on the tarmac and had two of its GE engines damaged. These had to be replaced, but the aircraft was flying once again within 10 days.
The plane began its famous life as a commercial passenger aircraft for Air France as F-GITH in 2003. After the huge 2016 tour was complete, the Boeing 747 was flown back to Iceland and used for chartering.
It was leased out to several small private charters, such as when it took 350 Icelandic football fans to Marseille to watch Iceland play Hungary in a match. The plane kept its existing livery for this trip, but after it was repainted and lost its Iron Maiden logo.
It is now operated by Air Atlanta Icelandic and flew from Ostend in Belgium at 8.57am to Kemble in Gloucestershire yesterday. Its famous history guarantees a huge crowd at the airports to witness every take off and landing the aircraft has ever made, and Iron Maiden even set up a dedicated 'spotters page, for fans to share photos of it.
The plane was videoed landing at the airport in Gloucestershire, showing fans are just as keen as ever.
