Who would you sell it to and what makes you think you can trust them?
The biggest drawback in entering into a life of crime is that your business associates are very untrustworthy.
But that does little to deter people from entering into that life.
Let's assume there was someone who knew where to sell the plane (or it's parts). He knows he can get $100MM for it. He takes his time and finds a pilot who flies that aircraft type and has a gambling problem, or a lot of debt or whatever. He offers the guy $5MM up front and $5MM on delivery. Think that couldn't work?
I'm not saying that this is what happened but the more I think about it the more I am surprised that someone has not tried some thing like this up until now.