Ex-Captain on New An-225: ‘We Are Going To Do It’

A former captain of what was once the largest cargo airplane in the world, the one-of-a-kind Antonov An-225 Mriya, has revealed details about plans to build a second version of the destroyed airplane.

Thom Patterson

Thursday, June 23, 2022 at 01:35 PM ET

Verified

“Things are in motion” to build a new version of the destroyed An-225 Mriya, according to an interview published on the aviation website Aerotime Hub. [Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

Former An-225 captain Dmytro Antonov revealed confirmed plans at the highest political level to rebuild the destroyed Antonov An-225 Mriya.
The reconstruction will utilize an existing, 60-80% complete second airframe that was abandoned in the 1990s, with an estimated cost of around $3 billion.
The new aircraft is envisioned as an exact copy incorporating modern components, with project managers seeking collaboration from major aviation companies like Airbus and Boeing.
Beyond the An-225, there are also considerations for restoring other damaged Antonov aircraft and rebuilding the company's base airport infrastructure at Gostomel.

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A former captain of what was once the largest cargo airplane in the world, the one-of-a-kind Antonov An-225 Mriya, has revealed details about plans to build a second version of the destroyed airplane.

In a two-part interview released on Aerotime Hub, pilot Dmytro Antonov discussed how engineers would use an existing second fuselage of the An-225 to construct a complete airplane. He also offered reasons why the iconic type should return to the skies.