Ukrainian freighter Antonov Airlines has delivered a power plant rotor on board of one of its An-124-100M aircraft from Atlanta, Georgia, US, to Nagoya, Japan.

As the only option to transport the cargo to its destination in the requested time, the transatlantic trip took three days including two technical stops in Calgary, Canada and Anchorage, US.

Weighing approximately 53,000kg, the rotor was transported in a specific frame that was manufactured especially for this mission.

To load the heavy single piece from truck into the An-124-100M, a ramp was used, designed, and manufactured by Antonov’s in-house engineers, in conjunction with an external crane.

Once the rotor was safely aboard, the technical crew dismantled the ramp and loaded it into the plane to be used again to unload the cargo at its destination.

After being repaired in the US, the rotor was ready to be transported to its destination.

The power plant rotor was urgently needed before the beginning of the winter season in Japan, when electricity consumption is intense.

Toshioki Majima, cargo sales manager at Western Associates, Inc., said: “Although it was an urgent shipment, Antonov Airlines understood the importance of this mission and really responded promptly.

“Antonov is a specialist with a wealth of experience in air transportation of large cargo, we have high expectations for the future cooperations.”

Dmytro Prosvirin, commercial director at Antonov Airlines, said: “We are fully aware of our responsibilities as a project cargo air freighter. When a project is all about ‘no other name than Antonov’, we do our best to complete the mission in time.”

A member of the leading international project cargo specialist group The Heavy Lift Group, Antonov Airlines is a Ukrainian state-owned enterprise that operates an extensive fleet of cargo aircraft including five AN-124-100 ‘Ruslan’ aircraft, one with a payload of up to 150 tonnes.

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