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| Photo Volga-Dnepr Group |
The heavy and odd-shaped cargo specialist freight carrier Volga-Dnepr Airlines has confirmed the restart of flying operations of the Antonov An-124-100 commercial operations following a crash in November grounded the fleet.
The first plane ready after the completion of technical checks and execution of service directives to a full extent was RA-82077 completing a flight from Leipzig to Shanghai on 26th December.
The airline suspended operations after the incident on the 13th of November 2020 which saw one of the fleet suffer an uncontained engine fan disk failure of series D-18T shortly after take-off. The failure resulted in engine failure and the loss of control systems. The bulk carrier was carrying 84 tons of cargo with full fuel tanks at the time of the incident. Despite suffering engine failure and loss of control elements, the crew still managed to avert a major disaster by making a 180-degree turn, land the aircraft, managing to keep the aircraft on the runway before skidding off the end of the runway.
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| Photo Fliegerfaust |
Konstantin Vekshin, Chief Commercial Director of Volga-Dnepr Group, said: "It appears that we have been able to re-start our An-124-100 operations before the end of this year. We are in the process of diligent execution of the service directives, the technical checks are on the right track. As expected, our first An-124-100 is back in the air again. The ultimate return will be incremental and we will still take our time to follow the guidelines reflected in the service directives".
Volga-Dnepr has taken a thorough approach towards the re-launch of An-124 commercial operations to secure the utmost flight safety in line with existing industry and internal standards. The company will be discussing the return to service and availability of An-124 with the customers individually and will keep them and the market informed about the situation.
See a special report on Aviation Safety Network.
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