Police update after minor injuries in Friday’s crash at Apse Heath

Reuters Videos

Siberian airlines seek to keep flying 50-year-old jets[1]

STORY: Two Siberian airlines are seeking to extend the lifespan of their ageing Soviet-era jets.The companies have requested to Russian government permit the small, propeller driven Antonov An-24 and An 26 planes keep going.Many of these planes are over 50 years old. Their typical lifespan is about 60 years.Russian plane manufacturers have been scrambling to plug the gap left by the exodus of foreign companies from the country.Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine further mean the cost of maintaining the planes is set to increase, due to the impact on investment and access to parts and supplies.According to Reuters analysis, Russia has handed out more than £12 billion in state subsidies and loans to keep its aviation sector afloat since the Western sanctions were introduced.But according to Oleg Panteleev, head of the Aviaport aviation think tank, it’s not enough to keep the Antonovs safely airborne.”The continuing usage of An-24 and An-26 planes will inevitably raise the cost of flight hours. Maintaining an aging fleet operational, all around the world, rests on economic feasibility.”The Antonovs were designed in the 1950s and produced in Kyiv from the 1960s, but none has been made for almost a decade.In Yakutia, Russia’s largest region, which is almost the size of India and the heart of Russia’s diamond industry, the planes are crucial.Almost 100 remain in service and are well-suited for the harsh conditions.The Antonovs don’t have to land on runways, but can manage on the ground or snow.

Here’s Polar Airlines pilot Kostantin Nazmutdinov.”It is very reliable aircraft, all systems work properly, there are no complaints at all.

It fits well for conditions of the far north, as it can withstand temperatures up to -58F (-50C), there have even been cases that we flew up to -76F (-60C).”According to this Yakutia resident and frequent flyer, the planes are nothing to be scared of.He recalls his father describing An-24s as “flying tractors” that just keep on flying.

References

  1. ^ Siberian airlines seek to keep flying 50-year-old jets (news.yahoo.com)

Tags: