Western Daily Press (Saturday)
World’s biggest plane has a blast on its visit to the Cotswolds
THIS is the thrilling moment the world’s largest plane landed in the Cotswolds on Thursday.
But even more dramatic was the take-off at the start of its return home when the blast from its engines blew down a perimeter fence.
The picture by photographer Michael Miklos was taken at Brize Norton, a village in the Cotswolds, just over the Gloucestershire border.
The massive six-engine Antonov An-225 ‘Mriya’ flew into RAF Brize Norton from Karachi.
The giant aircraft, capable of lifting 700 tonnes, flew over Cirencester and Northleach as it landed.
The flight was part of the Nato forces’ withdrawal process as foreign troops leave Afghanistan.
The plane is a strategic airlift cargo aircraft that was designed by the Antonov Design Bureau in the Ukrainian republic when it was part of the Soviet Union during the 1980s.
It is powered by six turbofan engines and is the heaviest aircraft ever built, with a maximum take-off weight of 640 tonnes, and also has the largest wingspan of any aircraft in operational service.
According to Daily Pakistan, the aircraft was carrying three RAF helicopters from Afghanistan to the UK.
When the plane took off again to return home to Kiev the six engines blew over a perimeter fence, but no injuries were reported among the planespotters standing behind it who were watching the event.
The An-225 participated in the Covid-19 pandemic relief effort, delivering medical supplies from China to other parts of the world.