Artist wants to bury plane in desert

A Swiss artist said he is working to obtain the proper permits to allow him to bury a Boeing 727 commercial jetliner in a California desert. Christoph Buchel, who has applied for a conditional-use permit in Kern County, said he wants to bury the jetliner 38 feet below the surface of the Mojave Desert, near Boron, and connect it to the surface with a tunnel once it has been covered in sand and dirt, the Bakersfield Californian reported Thursday. "At this point in time, we've received no letters in opposition to it," said Scott Denney, operations division chief for the county Planning Department. "But we have received a lot of inquiries." Buchel, who the Californian said was out of the country and unavailable for comment, dubbed the project "terminal."