The fortuitous chance that saved an Antonov An-124 from being destroyed just an hour before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

On the morning of 24 February 2022, the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine was launched. One of the first targets was Hostomel airport, which in the following days saw numerous battles. In this context, and despite the aircraft destroyed, including the national flagship An-225, there was a fortunate story for Antonov Airlines.

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An hour before the fighting began, the airline’s An-124 Ruslan super-heavy, registered as UR-82007, took off according to commercial plans set shortly before and an hour before the Russian invasion.

The information was shared last week by the company’s pilot, Dmytro Antonov, on his YouTube channel (video available below), who said the plane was saved from death while flying to the Malaysian island of Penang after the company received a last-minute request to transport a heavy cargo.

In the video, Dmytro also reinforces the thesis that Antonov’s then pro-Russian board of directors boycotted the opportunity to take out and save more planes. According to him, days before the invasion of Ukraine, NATO partners (Antonov provides heavy transport services for the organisation) had suggested moving the entire fleet to Leipzig, Germany, which in the end did not happen.

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See also: A year after its destruction, the Antonov An-225 is released in Microsoft Flight Simulator

At the time, the Antonov Airlines fleet consisted of seven An-124 Ruslan and one An-225, which was the largest transport aircraft in the world. Two of these aircraft were at Gostomel and were severely damaged. With this, five An-124 Ruslan were left flying around the world and the fate of another An-124 remains unknown.