Giant plane leaves after weekend stay
29.10.09
The world's largest aeroplane paid a weekend visit to East Midlands Airport, the Leicester Mercury reports. The giant Antonov An-225 Mriya was at the airport dropping off and picking up cargo for DHL. It was due to leave on Monday morning, but was delayed and eventually took off yesterday.
Built in the Ukraine during the 1980s, the Mriya – or ‘dream’ – weighs up to 600 tonnes when full laiden and can fly at more than 500mph. The giant plane is 60ft tall, 275ft long and has a wingspan of 290ft – about the length of a football pitch. It can hold 250,000kg of cargo and was designed to carry space shuttles.
A spokesperson for the airport said: ‘It is the world's largest plane and arrived from Canada on Friday evening. We had a lot of members of the public and some of our staff crowding around the fence to see it lift off. It was a fantastic sight and made our tower seem very small.’
Bill Blanchard, the airport's cargo manager, added: ‘This is the fourth time in as many years the Mriya has visit East Midlands Airport and we look forward to seeing the aircraft again in the near future.’
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