Former bmibaby Boeing 737 lowered into Derbyshire garden as underground bunker takes shape

A retired bmibaby Boeing 737-500 has taken a major step towards an unusual second life after being lowered into a large hole in a Derbyshire garden using a huge crane.

Dave Billings, a 45-year-old engineer, entrepreneur and YouTube creator from Hilton, Derbyshire, has successfully moved the aircraft fuselage into position as part of his ambitious plan to create an underground doomsday bunker beneath his property.

The operation, which took place on 20 October, involved a large crane, five volunteers and several crane operators. The remarkable lifting operation marks a significant milestone in a project that was first reported by Aerospace Global News in February this year and attracted attention earlier this year when Billings revealed he had purchased the aircraft section for just £4,000.

Now that the former passenger cabin is in the ground, work is progressing on transforming it into an underground ‘man cave’, which will eventually connect to an existing underground room beneath his garden.

Boeing 737 lowered into garden using huge crane

Getting a retired passenger aircraft into a back garden was never going to be a straightforward undertaking. As reported by the BBC, after purchasing the fuselage through Facebook Marketplace, Billings faced the challenge of transporting the enormous structure to his home and finding a way to install it underground.

The solution involved digging a substantial hole, preparing special foundations and bringing in a large crane to lower the aircraft into position. Five volunteers helped with the operation, while the crane operators carefully manoeuvred the fuselage into its new home.

Billings documented the process from several different angles for his YouTube channel (‘Tornado Dave’), including footage captured using an action camera mounted on the crane jib itself.

He has also used 3D printing to produce a scale model showing how the aircraft section will connect to the existing underground accommodation.

Speaking about the aircraft’s dimensions, Billingsted told the BBC that the aircraft’s size was even more impressive in reality than it had appeared in photographs.

However, he believes the width makes it particularly suitable for conversion into a usable entertainment space (when not being used as a doomsday bunker).

From Facebook Marketplace purchase to underground bunker

The unusual project began when Billings spotted the Boeing 737 fuselage advertised on Facebook Marketplace. Having immediately recognised its potential, he decided to make an offer of £4,000.

Initially, not everyone shared his enthusiasm. One friend thought the idea was silly, while his wife Beth questioned why he wanted to purchase what she considered a pile of junk.

However, his seven-year-old son was considerably more supportive, encouraging his father to go ahead with the purchase.

Billings has since adapted the aircraft section to create an underground recreational space, which will ultimately become part of a larger network of underground rooms and tunnels at his property.

He has considered installing games machines, although the available space will not accommodate a full-sized pool table. He hopes to have the project completed by February 2027 and intends to apply for retrospective planning permission from the local authority.

The former bmibaby Boeing has an interesting history

The aircraft being transformed is a Boeing 737-500, originally registered as G-BVKB. Built in 1993, the aircraft spent much of its operational life flying passengers on domestic and European routes.

It initially served with British Midland Airways before transferring to its low-cost subsidiary bmibaby in 2002.

During its time with bmibaby, the aircraft was reconfigured to accommodate 131 passengers in an all-economy layout. It operated from the airline’s bases at East Midlands, Manchester and Cardiff, carrying holidaymakers to popular destinations including Alicante, Malaga and Faro.

In 2009, the aircraft even received a special name, Pudsey Baby, to support that year’s BBC Children in Need appeal.

After bmibaby closed in 2012, the aircraft was retired, stored at Norwich Airport, and later transported to Bruntingthorpe in Leicestershire in 2013 for dismantling and parts recovery.

Its fuselage was divided into sections, with the forward portion eventually converted into a camper trailer. Billings acquired part of the rear fuselage, retaining some recognisable passenger-aircraft features.

Tornado Dave documenting the aircraft’s unusual transformation

Billings has been sharing his engineering and construction projects on YouTube since 2021 through his channel, Tornado Dave, which now has more than 326,000 subscribers.

His interest in creating unusual engineering projects developed following his involvement with Guy’s Garage, the television programme featuring presenter and former motorcycle racer Guy Martin.

The Boeing 737 conversion has become one of his most unusual projects, attracting attention from aviation enthusiasts and viewers interested in engineering and unconventional construction.

The channel has also allowed Billings to document the practical challenges of moving, positioning and converting such a large aircraft structure.

What happens next for the underground Boeing 737 bunker?

With the fuselage now safely lowered into its prepared foundations, attention turns to completing the underground structure and connecting it to the existing accommodation beneath the garden.

The finished space is intended to be a recreational retreat rather than a conventional aviation attraction, although its unusual origins are certain to make it a talking point.

For a Boeing 737 that once carried thousands of passengers across the UK and Europe, its new role is certainly unexpected. After being bought for £4,000, the former bmibaby aircraft is now well on its way to becoming one of Britain’s most unusual garden conversions.