For the first time, a cargo was delivered from USA to Russia by Il-96-400T airplane. The flight was made along the famous “route of Chkalov”.
The Russian airliner “Vyacheslav Salikov” of Polyot Airlines delivered about 40 tons of oilfield equipment from Houston to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
Until quite recently, outsized cargoes had been mainly carried by Ruslan aircraft, also to USA. The client explains selection of Il-96-400T as this plane has the widest side-loading freight door. None of the world’s airplanes has this kind of loading hatches. Furthermore, Il-96-400T can operate in the most severe conditions, and such a flight is possible using this type of aircraft only. The February frost was not an issue for the liner; unloading of equipment in harsh conditions of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk also went off without a hitch.
By making the first commercial flight to USA by Il-96-400T, which has been operated since 2010, Polyot mastered all the continents, except for the Antarctic. In 2012, the aircraft already visited South America, delivering several dozens of tons of aviation equipment. The airplane was also rented by the famous singer Kylie Minogue for her road tour of the countries on shore of the Pacific and the Atlantic.
Sourced from ITAR-TASS