HLPFI’s sister title FlightGlobal reports that several Antonov aircraft have been damaged during fighting at Gostomel Airport in Ukraine.
Combat operations at Gostomel resulted in the AN-225 being destroyed, along with AN-74 and AN-26 aircraft. A four-engine AN-22 outsize freighter was also damaged, along with an AN-124-150.
Acting general director at Antonov, Evgen Gavrilov, who was recently put in charge of the company, told colleagues that the Russian military action “struck at the heart” of the country’s aviation industry, destroying the AN-225 which he describes as “the world’s most famous” aircraft.
Gavrilov hinted at an eventual effort to rebuild the AN-225 but said: “The main tasks are to preserve the technical and scientific potential of Antonov and quickly resume serial production.”
The original item can be viewed at FlightGlobal here.
