The largest plane in the world has been busy as ever, moving record-breaking loads and oversized cargo around the world for Antonov Airlines. However, on one mission to Rzeszow Airport (RZE) in Poland, the huge An-225 suffered damage to its landing gear. Antonov Airlines confirmed that a bolt securing the sensors had been ‘cut’ on the mount of the right landing gear.

An-225 lands in thick fog

The incident occurred on January 9^th, as the huge aircraft touched down at the Polish airport on a flight from Istanbul. The Mriya had taken off at around 06:00 UTC, heading north for the hour and 45-minute flight to Rzeszow. As is often the case with the An-225, its arrival attracted plenty of attention on what was a cold and foggy morning in Poland.

In footage shared online, a large crowd can be seen ready to enjoy the approach of the An-225. Although the plane can be heard approaching, the fog obscured any visual connection until right at the last minute. The An-225 emerges from the foggy skies like a beast from beneath the waves, coming in for a safe landing at RZE.

Antonov pilot Dmytro Antonov shared cockpit footage of what looks to be a smooth and safe landing of the giant aircraft. He notes that the aircraft was conducting a service from China to Poland with an overnight in Istanbul. However, he doesn’t mention the damage to the landing gear.

It’s incredible to see the An-225 cutting through the fog in this way. Its wake turbulence literally clears the haze out of its path, leaving a streak of clear blue sky behind it.

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Damaged landing gear

Although the touchdown and rollout looked to be safe and incident-free, a post-flight inspection revealed damage to a bolt on the landing gear. In a statement, the Antonov company said,

“On January 9, 2022, while the AN-225 aircraft landing at Rzeszów airport, Poland, on a starboard main landing gear strut the bolts fixing the landing gear position sensor “flight-ground” were damaged. The detected malfunction did not affect the safety of flight and landing of aircraft. After replacement of the damaged bolts, the aircraft will be fully operational. The AN-225 will continue its commercial flight.”

According to reporting at the Aviationist, Antonov’s maintenance team flew in shortly after onboard an An-26. The necessary repairs were carried out, and Mriya was soon on her way once more. The Antonov Company confirmed in a tweet yesterday afternoon that the An-225 was all fixed up and ready to continue her mission.

At just before 16:00 UTC yesterday, the An-225 took off from Rzeszow for Tianjin in China. It landed safely at 02:00 UTC. Having been restocked with cargo, the giant plane took off just minutes ago and is safely on its way to its next destination.

Despite its huge size, the An-225 has been busy throughout the winter season, operating flights all over the world. December was its busiest month out of all of 2021, with 22 flights undertaken for a total of 123 flight hours. Destinations visited include Almaty, Tianjin, Istanbul and Leipzig, although it has arrived at around 16 different airports since this time last year.