Antonov 225 reportedly Destroyed

Dmitry Antonov says the aircraft is intact – for the moment anyway.

https://www.facebook.com/antonovd124/posts/10216499468877903

He says it's "whole", but that does not mean it's not damaged or indeed will be lost in due course, there has been some intense fighting at Hostomel Airport in the last few hours since Dmitry posted that message with Ukraine forces apparently taking back control, the area was/is likely subject to fierce attack from air and ground and if Ukraine is back in control I can see Russia repeatedly attacking the airport:-

Bombing raids are likely to be less forgiving then the targeted helicopter attacks on the airport of last night. The faith of Mriya really won't be clear until all this ends, how long that will be nobody knows.

All that aside even if she survives the conflict there would be every possibility she may never fly again, apparently the maintenance hangers and equipment have been heavily damaged/destroyed and it's possible she may be damaged beyond economical repair or parts required for her are hard to get, take Antaeus for example, apparently she has been sidelined for months due to awaiting simple parts for the rotors which can only be got from Russia, which at the best of times before all this were near impossible to get.

That asides there's also the possibility that Antonov itself may not survive the conflict, some of their A124s were in the air and managed to divert to other locations, but what about the rest of their fleet?

Anyone know what was on the ground other than the 22, 225 and their 74?

Ukrainiani Minister for Foreign affairs has announced that the 225 was destroyed.

Antonov saying they don't know, the official Ukraine twitter saying it is destroyed.

If I was a betting man, I'd say its gone.

From my understanding it was under maintenance but as well as that the Ukrainians didn't take the warnings of the west as serious as they should of in regards to the invasion.

Theres 2 Ukranian Antonov 124s in Leipzig at the mo, plus 3 Russian Volga/Dnepr 124s which wont be going anywhere quick - so it would be an interesting visit to that airport at the moment.

Of the rest, 2 seem to be in Kiev but the others are abroad. https://www.radarbox.com/data/airlines/adb?tab=photos

Ironically, the Russian ones are in Leipzig for servicing so its a wonder the Ukranians didn't think of doing that with the 225 (although.... maybe getting a hangar big enough would be an issue for the worlds biggest plane!).

I believe they only had 1 124 in Gostomel along with the 225, 22 and 74, possibly all lost.

The other 124 in Kiev is actually at Sviatoshyn for the last year (receiving upgrades I believe), that is the location of the Antonov plant (and the location of the second unfinished 225), there has been no mention if that was one of the many airports targeted.

Antonov are still operating (obviously not from Gostomel, possibly from Sviatoshyna) and I believe Amtes Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Service in Leipzig is the only company outside of Ukraine and Russia who have the expertise and parts to keep Antonov aircraft going, so they can still run a limited service, but, I'm sure the parts will only last so long and supply lines from the Ukraine and Russia will be limited if non existent.

Also worth remembering their pilots and crews, just like their aircraft are also currently displaced and no sign in sight of them getting back to base.

He also confirms the AN26, AN28 and AN74 destroyed, no mention of the AN22 or AN124.

Footage online in the last hour or so showing it burning inside the hangar. Just the nose cone and one engine visible.

There is the second AN225 which was never completed ?

Where's the 2nd one held up ?

RIP

Yes, that's Sviatoshyna, she is inside one of the large hangers.

If you look at Google maps towards the sheds at the North of the site you will see the shell of an un-finished AN-124, the second AN-225 is in the shed beside that.

That's the shell of CCCP-680210, long term stored AN-124 shell (since 1982), the second AN-225 is inside the shed next to it.

so a spiteful jealous Putin had the world's plane vandalised on purpose?

Possibly. As much of a marvel of Soviet engineering it was its an even bigger symbol of Ukrainian achievement. The fact that there was only one really sticks the knife in as well.

As far as the Russian authorities were concerned, it ended up on the wrong side of the border when Ukraine achieved independence. I think they resented the fact that the dedicated Ukrainian flight and maintenance team kept it going and made a viable business out of it.. the fact that it flew in Ukrainian national colours and was revered in aviation circles all over the world, must also have been an annoyance.

I know there are far more important human tragedies to be concerned about in this war, but the world has certainly lost a unique aero-engineering achievement.

The Ukrainian airplane and defence industry has always been a thorn in Russia's side since the break up of the USSR, Antonov rose well above the remaining prominent Russian based former USSR aircraft companies Tupolev, Ilyushin, and Yakovlev for example.

Initially they just could not compete with Antonov and is the very reason why the UAC was created. Russia merged ALL their design bureaus and plants in order to take on Antonov, and that seems to have worked with the Sukhoi Superjet 100 bringing the UAC well above Antonov.

Myria was considered the greatest soviet aviation success story, or indeed the greatest air freighter story in the world (not that that was her original purpose) and Russia are p****d that it is considered a Ukrainian success story rather than a Russian one. Myria was the star of the recent Ukrainian independence celebrations.

Perhaps the biggest annoyance to Russia is that Antonov was actually a Russian company (and not Ukrainian) having been founded in Novosibirsk in 1946 as the Research and Design Bureau No. 153, it moved it's HQ to the Ukraine in the 50s and when the USSR broke up severed it's ties to Russia, ever wonder why Antonov Airlines has not flown into Russia itself for many years?