As part of a reef-building effort, officials in Turkey over the weekend towed an Airbus A300 fuselage out to sea and watched for nearly three hours as it gradually filled with water and sank. Officials hope the wreck, in waters about 75 feet deep, will attract up to 250,000 tourists and divers every year, and distract visitors from natural reefs, which can be damaged by too much traffic. The 36-year-old A300, which is 177 feet long with a 144-foot wingspan, is thought to be the largest airplane ever deliberately sunk for use as an artificial reef. Hundreds of boaters gathered to watch and cheered as the fuselage slowly slipped beneath the waves.
Officials bought the airplane for about $95,000. They previously sank three smaller planes off the coast of Turkish resorts to promote the tourism industry, which has been in a slump due to concerns about terrorism.
