When any company goes out of business, it can sometimes become a complicated process to resolve the debt claims and sell off the assets. The process can be even more complicated depending on the country were the company is located, and how the process works and moves there. In much of South America, when an airline goes under, or a plane is confiscated in a drug sting, resolving ownership involves a complicated bureaucracy of bankruptcy judges, creditors, state and federal agencies, and civil and military aviation authorities. This has led to a collection of planes simply sitting unused or robbed for parts at airports across the region, ranging from  from molding Boeing 737s in Rio de Janeiro to World War II-era Douglas C-47 cargo planes stranding at remote airfields. Thanks to a very turbulent history in the airline industry, Brazil has one of the largest concentrations of abandoned planes.

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