As the Russian cargo airline Volga-Dnepr Airlines announced together with the Russian aviation authority, from now on all eight Antonov An-124 Ruslan will remain on the ground after the incident in Novosibirsk - AviationDirect reported - until further notice. “While we have not yet received any official notifications or service guidelines, and there are no preliminary conclusions, we must suspend the entire AN-124 fleet with immediate effect. This is a well thought out decision. We want to be preventive and show that we are a responsible airline, where safety comes first ”, says sales manager Konstantin Vekshin.

Volga-Dnepr is currently in contact with its customers in order to cancel the full order books accordingly in the near future. As an alternative, however, the company is looking to process as many orders as possible with the Boeing 747F from the subsidiary AirBridgeCargo. The company is now in contact with competitor Antonov Airlines as to whether the Ukrainians could take over certain flight orders at short notice. Vekshin points out, however, that Antonov Airlines could also follow the decision of Volga-Dnepr and ground their An-124 fleet themselves for the time being. “This would be recommended to them because of the circumstances; ultimately, it is also their reputation,” he says unequivocally.

Volga-Dnepr Airlines has around 60 Lotarjov D-18 engines for its Antonov fleet, previously serviced by the Ukrainian maintenance company of Motorsich. In the November 13, 2020 incident, debris damaged wiring, cutting off power, resulting in loss of communications, all electrical systems, instruments, brakes, and thrust reversers. Due to this massive loss of control, the crew was no longer able to bring the aircraft loaded with 84 tons of cargo to a stop in time, which caused the Antonov An-124 to slide over the end of the runway. Although pictures in social networks, taken shortly after the accident, show animal feathers in an engine, all engines should now be checked for a possible technical cause. It is completely unclear how long the Antonov An-124 of the Volga-Dnepr will remain on the ground. “Safety now comes first,” said Vekshin.