Fresh photos of the world’s largest airplane, the AN-225 Mriya, have been published
The huge An-225 Mriya was seriously damaged in late February 2022. It was a kind of symbol of Ukraine, and its loss could say a lot.
The downing of the six-engine plane was often portrayed as a national tragedy for Ukraine. Plans for repair or maintenance of the legendary transporter have been discussed many times. It has long been clear that the An-225 will never take off again.
In addition to numerous components, two engines have been preserved. Two D-18T turbofan engines were installed on the AN-124 Ruslan transport aircraft. A photo taken by the Dutch Ministry of Defense in late January shows what the largest aircraft looks like. Not much remains of it: it stands without wings at its home airport near Kyiv.
The AN-225 had a wingspan of 88.4 meters and a length of 84 meters. Over its 30-year history, it has set more than 240 world records. After all, it was an airplane with a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) – Antonov could lift up to 640 tons. Now it’s just a pile of metal:
