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Russia's Volga-Dnepr Airlines resumes An-124 ops after check

Volga-Dnepr Airlines (VI, Ulyanovsk Vostochny) reactivated the first of its ten An-124s on December 26, 2020, following a month-long grounding of the type for safety checks.

"It appears that we have been able to re-start our An-124-100 operations before the end of this year. We are in the process of the diligent execution of the service directives, the technical checks are on the right track... The ultimate return will be incremental, and we will still take our time to follow the guidelines reflected in the service directives," Chief Commercial Officer Konstantin Vekshin said in a statement.

The Russian cargo specialist grounded its entire fleet of Antonov Design Bureau quadjets in late November 2020, following an emergency landing of RA-82042 (msn 9773050455093) after an engine failure on take-off from Novosibirsk on November 13. The freighter suffered extensive damage, but no injuries were reported.

The first An-124 to restart operations following the grounding was RA-82077 (msn 9773054459151), which flew from Leipzig/Halle to Shanghai Pudong on December 26, Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows....

Russia's Volga-Dnepr Airlines grounds An-124s for checks

Volga-Dnepr Airlines (VI, Ulyanovsk Vostochny) has told Russia's federal air transport regulator (Rosaviatsia) that it has grounded all of its eight operational An-124-100s to conduct engine checks following an emergency landing of a ninth unit at Novosibirsk on November 13, 2020, The Loadstar has reported.

"This is a well-thought-through decision. 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," Chief Commercial Officer Konstantin Vekshin wrote.

RA-82042 (msn 9773050455093) suffered extensive damage after an engine failure on take-off from Novosibirsk. While the crew managed to land the aircraft back at the airport, it overran the runway and suffered severe damage to its landing gear, fuselage, and multiple systems. An investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Vekshin admitted that the decision to ground the fleet will be financially painful for the carrier due to surging...