April 16 - Volga-Dnepr's first IL-76TD-90VD flight from Australia has successfully completed an emergency shipment of 10m pipes bound for Noumea in New Caledonia. The charter required a 72 hour response over the course of a weekend and called for the use
Volga-Dnepr's IL-76TD-90VD matched these conditions as, unlike older versions of the IL-76, this version of the freighter is approved for worldwide operations and flies to and from Australia under an Australian Foreign Operators' Certificate issued by the country's regulatory authority, CASA.
The aircraft arrived at the Australian airfield of Townsville on schedule and, using the aircraft's onboard cranes, loading of the pipes and 20 pieces of construction equipment took only two hours, half the time originally estimated. A similar two-hour performance was achieved to unload the cargo on arrival on the South Pacific island of Noumea.
