For years, it was the most notorious aircraft in America — a Boeing 727 that transported billionaires, politicians, and celebrities, while also allegedly serving as an airborne crime scene. Today, Jeffrey Epstein’s infamous “Lolita Express” sits deteriorating at a regional airport in coastal Georgia, stripped of its engines and abandoned, a rusting monument to one of the most disturbing criminal networks in modern history.
A Plane That Held Dark Secrets
The Boeing 727, registered under tail number N908JE, earned its chilling nickname from locals near Epstein’s private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, who observed the frequent arrivals of the jet carrying what appeared to be underage girls. The “Lolita” label — borrowed from Vladimir Nabokov’s novel about a man’s obsession with a young girl — would become a symbol of the systemic abuse that prosecutors say Epstein orchestrated for decades.
According to aviation consultant James McCloskey, who toured the grounded aircraft in 2020 on behalf of a Las Vegas company that sources planes for the film industry, stepping aboard the jet felt immediately wrong. “When you get inside the aircraft, it’s a playground. Everything lays out to be a bed. That was kind of creepy,” McCloskey told the New York Post. “It’s not like the aircraft is set up for a business meeting — because it’s not.”
The interior, designed in what McCloskey described as a “Disco Era” aesthetic, featured lie-flat chairs that folded into beds, a spacious lounge area, and — according to multiple accounts — padded floors. A former model who toured the jet in the early 2000s recalled the moment she noticed the unusual flooring: “Wow, rich people are weird. I was so stupid and naïve. Why are padded floors cool?” Only later did she understand what the design was intended for.
Grounded Since 2016, Forgotten Since 2019
The aircraft made its final flight in July 2016, departing West Palm Beach, Florida, and landing at Brunswick Golden Isles Airport in southeastern Georgia — roughly 70 miles north of Jacksonville. It has not moved since.
After Epstein’s death by apparent suicide in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019, the jet was deregistered by the FAA just two months later. World Aviation Services eventually acquired the plane, with its owner reportedly telling the Daily Mail he “didn’t know who [Epstein] was or what he did with it.” No buyers have come forward, and the aircraft has been slowly deteriorating ever since, accruing substantial storage fees with no clear future.
Photographer Christopher Oquendo, who recently gained access to document the plane’s current state, described the experience as emotionally heavy. “It felt oppressive, knowing the things that had happened on that plane,” Oquendo told NewsNation. “It weighed heavy on me as I was taking those photographs.”
DOJ Documents Reignite Interest
The renewed attention on the rotting aircraft comes as the U.S. Department of Justice released millions of documents related to Epstein’s criminal network in February 2026. Those files, which run into the hundreds of thousands of pages, have revealed previously unknown connections across multiple states — including Georgia.
According to local Savannah-area news outlet WTOC, the DOJ documents show Savannah, Georgia, appearing repeatedly in email chains related to aircraft sales, flight logistics, and aviation services connected to Epstein’s network. One email thread from January 2016, titled “RE: Jeffrey Epstein,” involves an Epstein associate reaching out to a Savannah-based jet broker about a plane for sale. Importantly, investigators have stated that none of the Savannah individuals named in the files have been implicated in any criminal wrongdoing related to Epstein.
A Passenger List That Stunned the World
The flight logs recovered during investigations revealed a guest list that read like a who’s-who of global power. Former U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump were both named in flight records, along with celebrities like Kevin Spacey and Naomi Campbell, Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, and former U.K. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. Britain’s Prince Andrew was alleged by Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre to have been aboard the plane at the same time as her. All denials and legal outcomes notwithstanding, the manifest placed the names of the world’s most powerful people in proximity to Epstein’s documented crimes.
Giuffre, who became one of the most prominent voices among Epstein’s accusers, stated bluntly in a 2016 deposition: “It happened all the time on the planes.”
What Happens Next
Despite its significance as a piece of evidence and a symbol of systemic abuse, the plane is slated for scrapping. There have been no serious efforts to preserve the aircraft, and its owners have indicated it will be dismantled for parts. Given that aircraft of its age carry limited resale value — especially one this infamous — the economic math is straightforward.
What remains less clear is the full scope of what happened aboard this plane and who was ultimately responsible beyond Epstein himself. The DOJ document releases have re-energized advocacy groups demanding more accountability, and investigations into Epstein’s co-conspirators remain ongoing.
For now, the Lolita Express sits in silence — engines removed, paint faded, interior decaying — in a quiet corner of coastal Georgia. A ghost plane carrying the weight of crimes that the world is still reckoning with.