Reference
Antonov An-225 Mriya
Largest aircraft ever flown, now lost. Payload, hold, door and the job it usually flies are below.
Lost at Hostomel airport in February 2022 during the invasion of Ukraine. A second airframe was started and never finished.
- Structural payload
- 250,000 kg
- Hold volume
- 1,100 m³
- Hold length × width × height
- 43.35 × 6.40 × 4.40 m
- Main cargo door
- 6.40 × 4.40 m
How the Antonov An-225 Mriya is used
The largest aircraft ever flown. It was built to carry the Soviet Buran space shuttle, and later it was the only aircraft able to lift 250 tonnes. Its heaviest single item was a 187.6-tonne generator flown in 2009.
For three decades it was the last option for cargo nothing else could lift: power-station parts, locomotives, other aircraft. Only one was finished. Its loss removed a capability that has not been replaced.