May 17 - Thousands of people turned up to see the first ever landing of the Antonov-225 Mriya (AN 225) in Perth, Australia.
The aircraft was chartered by Karpeles Flight Services, a subsidiary of DB Schenker, to carry a 117-tonne generator.
The shipment began in Pilsen, Czech Republic and was moved overnight on a multiple-axle truck to Prague's Vaclav Havel airport. Once loaded onboard, the generator, measuring 8.8 m x 3.5 m x 3.2 m, was covered by a special canvas welded on at more than 30 fixation points.
The flight stopped over in Turkmenbashi (Turkmenistan), Hyderabad (India) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). DB Schenker also arranged the land transport of the cargo to the Australian client - an alumina refinery in Collie, a four hour drive from Perth.
