AN-225 destroyed?!

[Scotius]

And thus the Dream ends. Farewell, Big Bird.

[DDE]

On 5/30/2022 at 9:44 PM, DDE said:

Last known image of an intact Mriya so far, I believe. Reportedly dated February 27.

https://t.me/milinfolive/84257

I don't think I've seen an image of it actually on fire.

https://t.me/milinfolive/94655

[DDE]

On 5/27/2022 at 2:02 PM, DDE said:

Looks like at least parts of the plane are being unceremoniously hauled off for scrap.

https://t.me/rezident_ua/12490

Well, yesterday, fresh wide-angle images crossed my feed. No further attempts have been made to haul the nose fragment, and the hangar itself has been meticulously stripped of all sheet metal.

I hate to say it, but, given later context

Spoiler

https://www.vogue.com/article/portrait-of-bravery-ukraines-first-lady-olena-zelenska

the above video showed a piece of the plane being dragged about to act as a better photoshoot stage.

[kerbiloid]

The utilization brigade usually wears long blue coats like this one.

Interesting, were those two engines destroyed by demolition charges to prevent their reuse.

[mikegarrison]

I'm not against air cargo. It has its role in the world. But there is a reason why they didn't even finish the second one of these airplanes, and that is because it was not competitive against more modern 747s and 777s. There are a few (a very few) specialized oversized cargos that this plane was the best option for. But those are rare.

I'm sorry the plane was senselessly destroyed, but while trying to avoid this forum's rules against politics, I stand by why I wrote earlier.

[Lisias]

[snip]

Lets resume to this thread's subject, a tribute to a great plane that is going to be bitterly missed.

 

 

[Vanamonde]

Some comments removed. Please stick to the topic.