The world’s largest aircraft, the Antonov AN-225, has been destroyed at an airfield in Gostomel near Kyiv, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials. The news generated alarm and sadness among the aviation world in which it occupied a cult status.
“We will rebuild the plane,” a statement from the official Twitter account for the government of Ukraine read. “We will fulfill our dream of a strong, free, and democratic Ukraine.” Restoration of the aircraft, known as Mriya, will take more than five years at a cost of over $3 billion following the attack.
“Russia may have destroyed our ‘Mriya’. But they will never be able to destroy our dream of a strong, free and democratic European state. We shall prevail!” wrote Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Twitter.
“Mriya,” which translates to “dream” or “inspiration,” was a monster jet more than 30 years old. With a wingspan longer than the Wright brothers’ first flight and a nose-to-tail length of more than 270 feet, the plane had a maximum take-off weight of more than 640,000 kilograms, according to Antonov Airlines. It dated back to the Soviet era, having been conceived and built during the 1970s and ’80s to ferry around the regime’s Buran space shuttle.
The plane first took off on Dec. 21, 1988, becoming something of a celebrity in the aviation world. When the plane cruised into Perth, Australia, in May 2016, more than 35,000 aircraft enthusiasts gathered to watch its arrival, snarling traffic around the airport.
It entered commercial operations in 2001, with each hour of its operation reportedly running a cost of $30,000. During the coronavirus pandemic, the aircraft was used in state humanitarian operations to transport personal protective equipment around the world.
The aircraft’s service life was extended by Antonov Airlines, which announced several years ago that the plane was expected to remain in operation until at least 2033.
“It has 242 world records to its name,” the company crowed, “and is the inspiration for Antonov Airlines’ slogan: ‘No other name carries more weight.’”
Mriya’s lead engineer, Nikolay Kalashnikov, told the BBC in 2017 that it had been almost impossible to imagine that “such a big machine” was capable of flight when they were first designing it.
“The Mriya is not separable from Ukraine,” Kalashnikov said, “it’s like our child, and it’s something our children, and our grandchildren can always be proud of.”
