Mechanics at the Jat Tehnika maintenance base have their own private pet-name by which they refer to this barely-recognisable Boeing 737 perched in a Belgrade hangar.
"We call it the 'submarine'," says one of the engineers, giving me a brief tour around the tail-less, engine-less, windowless, wheel-less, bare-metal fuselage.
For reasons which have yet to become abundantly clear, the 737 - apparently connected to Aerovista in the United Arab Emirates - is undergoing an overhaul so extensive that there's hardly a part which won't be replaced. It's hard not to feel that this is aviation's equivalent of the legendary broom which lasted 50 years, and only needed two new heads and three handles.
"I suppose it might be cheaper to find a newer one," admits the engineer with a philosophical shrug. "But it's their money. We'll do whatever they want."
So there you go. If you know any more about the 'submarine', then feel free to email me. Say it's undergoing a 'sea' check, and you'll be first in the wastebasket, wise-guy.
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