The world’s most recognizable airplane is coming in for a landing.

Boeing Co. said in a regulatory filing Wednesday that it might stop production of the 747, ending nearly a half-century of building the plane that became the aircraft of choice for the U.S. president and other heads of state.

The prospect of ending 747 production after years of weak sales would close a chapter of Boeing’s history that began when the humped jetliner won its first orders from Pan American World Airways five decades ago.

Boeing has delivered more than 1,500 of the jets since 1970, when the company introduced the plane.

Aviation historians credit the plane with making global air travel more affordable for most people. The huge number of seats, sometimes nearly 600 on some airlines, spread the costs across the large group of paying passengers.