April 06--It's tough to tell if fans were more excited to see Iron Maiden or the heavy metal band's private plane Wednesday.
Social media users tracked the path of "Ed Force One" as the plane traveled from Detroit to O'Hare International Airport. The plane landed at about 2 p.m., ahead of the band's scheduled 7:50 p.m. show at the United Center. Gates are slated to open at 6:30 p.m.
The Boeing 747, which is decorated with Iron Maiden decals, carries the band, crew and more than 12 tons of equipment. The plane is larger than the Boeing 757 used during previous tours.
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The 747 sustained damage last month in a collision at a Chile airport. Both port side jet engines were replaced less than 10 days later to the tune of $4 million per engine, a band rep posted on ironmaiden.com.
"The Book of Souls" world tour, in support of the band's 2015 album of the same name, is slated to wrap up in Germany in August after nearly six months of shows.
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