Antonov AN-225, the world’s largest plane was destroyed by Russian forces. Here’s what you need to know.

Antonov AN-225, or Mriya, was a cargo plane that was just destroyed during a Russian attack in an airfield near Kyiv, Ukraine. It was considered the world’s largest plane and the sad news was confirmed by many, including Ukroboronprom, an enterprise associated with Ukraine’s defence industry.

The plane’s last flight was on the 5th of February 2022, taking off from Billund, Denmark and landing in Gostomel, Ukraine. According to Ukroboronprom, it was undergoing repair and routine maintenance at the Antonov Company site in Gostomel. It was supposed to leave Ukraine but was not able to due to the repair. The latest report states that they don’t have access to the aircraft due to the Russians occupying the airport.

Since we have confirmation from Ukranian officials like Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba and the Parliament of Ukraine, as well as photos of the hangar from Maxar Technologies and various sources throughout the internet, we can safely say that the plane is probably damaged.

Why was Mriya so widely loved?

Mriya, or “dream” in Ukrainian, had a cult following in the aviation community as it held multiple records regarding its sheer size. Produced in 1985, the plane held records for heaviest aircraft ever built, the largest wingspan of any aircraft in operational service, highest carrying capacity (640 tonnes) and longest transport plane at 84 metres. Due to these accolades, people often visited airports just to see it take off and land.

The plane ran on six engines and held a capacity of up to six crew members. It had a max speed of 850 km/h (530 mph, 460 kn), a cruise speed of 800 km/h (500 mph, 430 kn), a range of 15,400 km (9,600 mi, 8,300 nmi) and a thrust-to-weight ratio of 0.234.

The aircraft was not in serial production, so it was truly one of a kind. Now that it has been destroyed, there are no more AN-225 models around, except if they get it repaired. However, Ukroboronprom estimates that repairing the Mriya would cost over USD 3 billion (~RM 12.6 billion) and take over five years, so we won’t see it in the air anytime soon. How is Ukraine going to fund this restoration? Well, they plan to make Russia pay for it. As Ukroboronprom stated in an update, “Ukraine will make every effort to ensure that the aggressor state pays for these works”.

Mriya has visited Malaysia three times

The plane has visited Malaysia a total of three times: 2007, 2016 and 2018.

The first time the plane came over to Malaysia was to transport five helicopters for the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace exhibition. It was supposed to land at Langkawi International Airport, but could not because of the plane’s extremely large wingspan.

In 2016, Mriya made its second visit, making Malaysia the first and only ASEAN country to welcome the arrival of Mriya as of 2016. The plane arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) at 8:30 am on May 14 for refuelling purposes. It departed from Kiev and stopped by Prague, Turkmenbashi, Hyderabad and Kuala Lumpur for refuelling, with its final destination being Perth, Australia.

The last time it visited Malaysia was for another refuelling session, after stopping by Leipzig, Germany and Dammam, Saudi Arabia to deliver cargo.

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