Volga-Dnepr Grounds Antonov 124 Fleet Following Crash

VOLGA-DNEPR AN 124-100 RA-82075

C/N 9773053459147

An Antonov An-124-100 traveling from Novosibirsk-Tolmachevo Airport (OVB/UNNT) Russia to Wien-Schwechat International Airport (VIE/LOWW), Austria has crashed after an emergency return to Novosibirsk-Tolmachevo Airport. The An-124, registration RA-82042, operated the Volga-Dnepr flight 4066 from Seoul-Incheon Airport in South Korea to Vienna-Schwechat Airport in Austria with an en route stop at Novosibirsk-Tolmachevo Airport, Russia. The aircraft took off from runway 25 at 12:09 hours local time (05:09 UTC). During takeoff, around 1800 feet, the no.2 engine suffered an uncontained failure. This resulted in the failure of the power supply of the aircraft, radio communications, braking system and a limitation in the the trust control of the remaining engines. The Antonov then turned back towards the runway with smoke coming from one engine. It was later found, debris from a fractured turbine damaged cabling. Among other things, it took out the communications system. The flight crew performed a low altitude turn for a landing back on runway 25 (LDA 3597 meters). The aircraft was not able to stop on the runway and overran, coming to rest 300 mts past the end. The nose landing gear had collapsed. Fragments of what appeared to be the fan disk were found inside a warehouse near the airport. The aircraft itself also sustained damage. Debris had penetrated the left hand side of the fuselage and leading edge slats. A hole in the right hand top fuselage suggests debris had gone through and through. Footage shows the Antonov having difficulties braking, and it overshot the runway by some distance. As the aircraft leaves the runway and hits snow, the nosegear breaks off, leaving the Antonov’s nose down in the dirt and snow.

VOLGA-DNEPR AN 124-100 RA-82079

C/N 9773052062157

So, in the wake of the incident Russian cargo airline Volga-Dnepr has grounded its fleet of Antonov An-124 aircraft until further notice. According to the airline, the grounding is a proactive and pre-emptive decision made in-house. 

“We want to be proactive and pre-emptive and demonstrate that we are a responsible airline where safety comes first.

“We have not received any official notifications or service directives yet, and there are no preliminary conclusions, so we have to suspend the entire AN-124 fleet with immediate effect.”

Volga-Dnepr operates a fleet of 12 Antonov An-124s with an average age of 26.9 years. The plane involved in the incident, RA-82042, has been with Volga-Dnepr since July 1991. The grounding leaves Volga-Dnepr without planes big enough to service much of its cargo market niche. Volga-Dnepr is a world leader in the unique, oversize, and heavy cargo market. Their Antonovs are a familiar sight at airports around the world.

“We don’t care how much revenue we will miss. It’s not even relevant right now. Safety is more important than any potential benefits from the peak season”, says Mr Vekshin.

Aircraft Information

Airline: Volga-Dnepr 

Code: VI / VDA

Aircraft: Antonov An-124-100

Registration: RA-82042

Serial Number:  9773054055093

Engines: 4 Lotarev D-18T

Their have been six incidents involving the Antonov 124

13th Oct 1992  Antonov An-124-100 CCCP-82002 Antonov Design 8 deaths
15th Nov 1993 Antonov An-124-100 RA-82071 Aviastar 17 deaths
08th Oct 1996 Antonov An-124-100 RA-82069 Aeroflot 2 deaths
06th Dec 1997 Antonov An-124-100 08 Black Russian AF 45 deaths
29th May 2019 Antonov An-124-100 5A-DKN Libyan Air Cargo 0 deaths

13th Nov 2020 Antonov An-124-100 RA-82042 Volga-Dnepr 0 deaths