The Soviet Giant: Inside the World’s Largest Production Cargo Plane

"A giant of the skies – the Antonov AN-124-100M-150. Worldwide the biggest production cargo aircraft of all time. Thirty-five years old and still highly sought-after in the transport sector. No aircraft can transport more goods than the Russian giant. At the height of the Cold War: an important means of national transport and prestige object for the Soviet Union. Today: it is in use all over the world and is the queen of international air transport. Her latest mission: The Antonov An-124 is bringing a 61-ton generator 11,000 kilometers from England to South Korea. Normally a piece of cake. But every job has its quirks. The load manager and his team must make sure, that the ramp and the internal track system of the cargo freighter are positioned exactly – otherwise it would not be possible to load the generator safely. The crew is under time pressure. The customer is paying about three hundred thousand Euros for the charter flight. And: every minute of delay costs more. Before it can be loaded, the steam generator has to pass special security screenings, before it is allowed at the cargo terminal. On its way to Seoul, the An-124 must stop three times to fuel up and to check the status of the cargo. The cargo plane itself must also be thoroughly checked after every landing. The technicians make small repairs right at the gate. But after 4000 flight hours, a general overhaul is necessary. That means: about every 2 years, the Antonov planes must be thoroughly inspected. In this way, each plane can be used around the clock for up to 45 years. The Antonov’s team doesn’t suspect that inadequate equipment and unprepared workers await them at their destination. The transport could very well end in disaster… " This documentary was produced by Maximus Film and directed by Klaus Proff & Thilo Proff. It was first released in 2017. ------ We have the stories that global corporations don't want you to know. Our channel is home to award-winning investigations, current affairs and revealing documentaries that challenge unchecked global powers and give you the real, human stories behind the headlines. Want to understand more about our world? Want to delve beyond news headlines and understand global issues more deeply? Subscribe to DISPATCH for all this and more. Make sure to hit notifications to never miss a new release!