I wish I could have seen the AN-225 in person. Just watching videos of it the size is astonishing. It's amazing that it could even get off the ground.



World's largest cargo aircraft was destroyed during a Russian attack on an airfield, Ukrainian minister says

Sam Tabahriti 

Feb 27, 2022, 11:29 AM

The world's largest cargo aircraft, the An-225 Mriya, has been destroyed during a Russian attack, according to Ukraine's minister of foreign affairs, Dmytro Kuleba.

Kuleba tweeted on Sunday: "Russia may have destroyed our 'Mriya'. But they will never be able to destroy our dream of a strong, free and democratic European state."

"We shall prevail!" he added.

The plane was based at the Antonov Airport – also known as Hostomel Airport – according to Scottish publication The Herald. The paper reported Thursday that the airfield was struck by missiles prior to the attack.

On the same day, Aviation24.be published a report saying a source had confirmed the aircraft was in Georgia.

Insider was not able to independently verify the publication's claims.

Illia Ponomarenko, a defense reporter for the Kyiv Independent, said on Sunday that the aircraft was ruined "amid a Russian attack."

And the US-funded media Radio Liberty shared a satellite picture purporting to show the aircraft in flames.
 
The aircraft, which first took off in 1988, was used to transport large amounts of humanitarian aid around the world, especially at short notice. It was also used to transfer Soviet spacecraft. 

Russian flights have been banned from many European countries as part of the sanctions imposed by the EU and the US, as Insider reported. 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/w...-report-2022-2%3famp

I walked through it in 1990 at an airshow.

The article makes no sense, and states that the airplane was in Georgia. According to Ukroboronprom, the airplane was on the ground with an engine removed, at Hostomel. They also indicate that the extent of the damage is unknown, but they believe that it will be repairable.

The I've parked next to that airplane all over the world. The first time I saw it was in Kabul, Afghanistan. Never got a chance to see the inside.

It's the only thing I ever parked next to, in the 747, that actually looked big.

Reportedly, Russian paratroops presently hold Hostomel. If left to the Russians, the airplane will probably never fly again. Their maintenance and their follow-through with most aviation projects, is famously bad.

quote:

Originally posted by SevenPlusOne:
I walked through it in 1990 at an airshow.

Aerospace America, I walked through it too. Amazing.



I saw the reports a few hours ago but no true confirmation. I figured it that huge vital asset was parked in Ukraine it was a bone headed foolish mistake, it should have been moved somewhere safe.

Until I see pics and videos of it destroyed I don’t believe it yet.
.

It’s spent a month in Houston, it was unbelievable how huge it was. It delivered an entire flight simulator to my airline at one time, everything at once. Sorry to lose it, but I’m betting they will build another when this mess is done.

quote:

Originally posted by OKCGene:
I figured it that huge vital asset was parked in Ukraine it was a bone headed foolish mistake, it should have been moved somewhere safe.

Reportedly had an engine removed and was undergoing maintenance.

quote:

Originally posted by nighthawk:
Sorry to lose it, but I’m betting they will build another when this mess is done.

Given that there's only one, it's not likely. Antonov says a guestimate is three billion for repairs, though they also claim they haven't seen it, and they're posturing, saying that the Russians will pay for it.

Ahhhh...right.

Better chance of having a pidgeon pay for a paint job on a cadillac.

You know that was done on purpose....

Saw some variant of jumbo Antonov on departure from IAH. Pretty sure it wasn't the 225, but was distinguishable by the multi wheel main gear & high wing.

IIRC it definitely had a smokier/dirtier trail behind it than the typical Boeing/Airbus traffic out of IAH.

Edit: Think it was an AN-124 I saw, after a quick search.

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:

quote:

Originally posted by nighthawk:
Sorry to lose it, but I’m betting they will build another when this mess is done.

Given that there's only one, it's not likely.

Yeah. If it has indeed been hit and "destroyed" as reported, that's the end of that. No one will be building that again anytime soon.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Saw some variant of jumbo Antonov... it was an AN-124 I saw...

Ah, yes. The C-5-ski (as we called it)

^^^^^ they had a Concorde-ski too.

quote:

Originally posted by OKCGene:
^^^^^ they had a Concorde-ski too.

TU-144 not nearly as elegant as Concorde, IMO.

Actually there is another one partially complete, fuselage wise. Unless they blew it up, it was shoved to the back of the field.

The 225 was partially built, discontinued around 2009, I think, at around 60% of the aircraft built. Antonov claimed it would take 300 million to finish.

We were on the south side of Pittsburgh. For reference on this map, we were pretty much looking toward the aircraft from the south, toward the north. It was flying a south base about to turn to the west on final.

It caught my eye (not knowing at all what it was) as being VERY big, and it had four engines (I thought at first). So, I assumed 747. We have Air National Guard tankers at Pgh, so it could have been one of those, but no, it was bigger.

Why hasn't it moved?!!! Staring... It's just hanging there!? Several moments. Still hanging. Some insane freak headwind?.... This is insane!?

Starting to see the profile a bit as it is now turning toward the west. The river confluence at Pittsburgh pretty much points toward out Intl. airport. The tail! Oh my god it's an Antanov! At the time, I assumed there were a few of them made/still flying.

I am an aviation enthusiast and a (non-current) private pilot. I have never seen a plane hang in the air like that. It's scale made it visible so early, and it was just hanging there in the sky over Pittsburgh. Lumbering there would seem to quick a word. It was almost like a blimp. I did the flight aware on my phone and screenshot it for the hell of it. A very sad day. A very troubled time.

AVWeb this morning had an overhead shot if the hangar and aircraft being consumed by fire.

Still difficult to positively identify the plane.

Here are a few satellite pics from Thr Drive showing AN-225 tail out the backside of the hanger. Another image shows the plane sitting on the tarmac reportedly hours prior to the attack. It appears that the right inboard engine is removed.




https://www.thedrive.com/the-w...hows-its-tail-intact

quote:

Originally posted by r0gue:
It caught my eye (not knowing at all what it was) as being VERY big, and it had four engines (I thought at first). So, I assumed 747. We have Air National Guard tankers at Pgh, so it could have been one of those, but no, it was bigger.

Why hasn't it moved?!!! Staring... It's just hanging there!? Several moments. Still hanging. Some insane freak headwind?.... This is insane!?

Starting to see the profile a bit as it is now turning toward the west. The river confluence at Pittsburgh pretty much points toward out Intl. airport. The tail! Oh my god it's an Antanov! At the time, I assumed there were a few of them made/still flying.

I had a very similar experience while I was driving past Moffett Field near Mountain View. NASA Ames is co-located at the former Navy base and this massive Antonov was just...hanging, a giant whale was hanging in the air. It was quite a sight.

Oh yeah, anoth Ukraine thread. Could that have gone in here?

https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...0601935/m/4000036984

Or here.

https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...0601935/m/3270077884

Or here?

https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...0601935/m/6690039984

Or here?

https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...0601935/m/6470039984

It's getting hard to check all the threads at this point.

While related, this would interest many aviation folks, not just those keeping up with the Ukraine events.

Seems a justified new thread, IMO.

The title alone got me reading, as an aviation nut.