Parts intelligence / Teardown candidates
Aircraft teardown candidates, ranked by real signals.
An aircraft does not announce its own retirement, and most airframes that get parted out never make the news first. Datawings lists the tails closest to part-out, each with a confirmed engine, and ranks them by the signals on file.
For parts traders and USM buyers, it shows where used serviceable material will come from, and which engine families sit behind it. For independent MROs, it shows whose fleets are ageing.
01 / The bar
Three conditions, or it stays off the list.
Every row is a real aircraft, filtered by real fleet age, with a real confirmed engine. Never a guess, and never picked to make a point.
- A real tail
A registration on file for an airline, lessor or MRO we track, with a known type and a delivery date.
- A confirmed engine
A registry record or a named source states the engine for that operator and type. If nothing does, the tail is left out rather than guessed.
- An age window
End of life, 20 years and over. Or young, 10 years and under, for early retirements. Twenty years is a rough floor for a real candidate, not a retirement date.
02 / The ranking
Why one tail sits above another.
Within each window the order follows the evidence, and every row says in plain words why it is on the list.
- First: operator news
Tails whose operator has news on file about a fleet retirement, financial distress or a grounding. The headline is shown, so you see the reason, not a badge.
- Then: maintenance attention
Tails with service difficulty reports filed against them in the last 90 days, and tails whose engine family was named in a recent airworthiness directive.
- Then: age
Oldest first. In the product, the same list also groups the candidates by aircraft type.
03 / Around the list
The signals that say parts are coming.
The candidate list sits next to the signals that move it. Under each one, a real line from the database.
- Confirmed teardowns
Completed teardowns, with the operator named by the dismantler. 29 are on file. When the parts are already out, it is the strongest signal there is.
Croatia Airlines · A320-200 · MSN 258 · completed teardown
- Tails leaving the register
When a tail stops appearing on its government register, it has left service under that registration. It shows up as a signal after the nightly read.
Gol Linhas Aéreas · 737NG PR-GTC · no longer on the register · 4 Oct 2026
- Fleet age by operator
Whose fleet is ageing into the overhaul window, tail by tail, with a count of how many confirmed-engine tails are already past the 20-year floor.
Atlas Air · 51 dated tails · average age 26.6 years
- Oldest airframes
The oldest dated airframes still on the registers we read.
N102DA · Delta Air Lines · 767 · delivered 1982 · 44 years
Example lines as of 5 October 2026
04 / Questions
Before you ask.
- How is a teardown candidate different from a confirmed teardown?
A candidate is a tail that meets the age window with a confirmed engine, ranked by the signals on file. A confirmed teardown has already happened, and the dismantler has named the operator. 29 are on file as of 5 October 2026.
- Why are young aircraft on the list?
Younger airframes retired early feed a much larger still-flying fleet of the same generation. Their parts are often worth more than those of an old aircraft reaching a predictable end of life. So the list has two windows: 10 years and under, and 20 years and over.
- Do you predict when an aircraft will retire?
No. Real retirement timing depends on type and cycles flown, not just calendar age. The list shows which tails meet the bar and why, so you can judge for yourself.
- Do you value airframes or list parts for sale?
No. There are no valuations and no parts listings. Datawings tells you which airframes and engine families to watch, and leaves the deal to you.
- Why is a tail I know about missing?
Most often because its engine is not confirmed for that operator and type, and the list leaves those out rather than guess. It can also sit on a register we do not read yet. We read 31 today.
- What does it cost?
€500 per named seat, per month, with every signal, register and export included. Three companies get 90 days free, in exchange for honest feedback.
05 / Access
€500per seat · per month
- One price. Every signal, every register, every export.
- Three companies get 90 days free, in exchange for honest feedback.
- Set up by hand. The first call costs nothing.
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