Heaviest aircraft ever built lands at Karachi airport

KARACHI: The heaviest cargo aircraft ever built, Antonov An-225 Mriya, landed at Jinnah International Airport, Karachi on Wednesday, ARY NEWS reported.

According to details, flight ADB-3859 landed at the Karachi airport after it arrived from Kabul.

The heaviest cargo plane ever built bore a registration number of UR82060 and a similar six-engine plane, Antonov An-225 Mriya, had previously landed at the Karachi airport on 20 April 2018.

The cargo plane which is considered the heaviest cargo aircraft ever built comprised of a turbofan engine and could take off with a maximum weight of 640 tonnes.

It is pertinent to mention here that the plane in 2018 made an emergency landing in the provincial capital of Sindh after the jet ran out of fuel.

Following fuel shortage, the captain contacted control tower at the Karachi airport and asked for permission to make emergency landing, which was granted by the control tower in time.

According to the airport’s manager, the Russian plane has been provided with fuel.

Interestingly, the craft had also made an emergency landing at Colombo airport for refueling a day ago.

Mriya landed at the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) on Friday morning, Sri Lankan daily mirror quoted Airport Manager Upali Kalansuriya as saying.

“It is iconic to have the world’s largest aircraft at MRIA and it is the first time that this type of aircraft arrived in the country. The aircraft arrived from Kuala Lumpur and has scheduled to departure for Karachi, Pakistan 2.00 a.m tomorrow,” he said.