All language subtitles for Mighty.Planes.S01E06.Antonov.124.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-BurCyg_track3_[eng]

[Narrator] It's one of
the biggest cargo planes

in the world: The Antonov
124.

It is capable of flying things
that no other airplane can.

[Narrator] The cargo today is
a massive wind turbine

headed halfway around the
world.

[Man] 02368...

[Narrator] On the way

this flying freight train
will encounter dangerous
storms...

Just not so good weather
around Recife.

It's many thunderstorms.

[Narrator]
Treacherous crosswinds...

And nerve-wracking delays.

The scheduled time of
departure is in 10 minutes.

That crane's not moveable,
so we're stuck.

[Narrator] What counts is to
deliver the goods safely

and on time.

Make way for the heavy
lifter,

the Antonov 124,
the pride of Ukraine.

Captain Dmitrii Antonov,
no relation, at the controls.

I love my job,
I love this plane.

[Narrator] He and his crew of
18

are three hours out of
home base in Kiev...

And minutes from touchdown
at Dusseldorf, Germany.

On the ground, a truck
convoy clears security.

The trailers are laden with
crates the size of tool sheds

containing 95 tons of
power-generating equipment.

It's all going into
the big belly of the Antonov

for a two-day, 7,500-mile
flight to the far side of the
world...

Santiago, Chile.

[radio chatter]

This eye-popping monster is
the world's go-to plane

for outsized commercial
cargo...

...dwarfing onlookers

and making even veteran
airport workers gape.

The Antonov 124 towers over
its competitors

in the cargo market.

The tail is seven stories
high,

and wingtip to wingtip, it's
the width of a city block.

Paul Furlonger works
out of England

for Ruslan International,

which contracts big jobs
for Antonov airlines.

It is capable
of flying things

that no other airplane can,

and that automatically
makes it unique.

[Narrator] Today it's
a giant wind turbine,

torn to pieces during the
devastating 2010 earthquake

in Chile.

After 10 weeks of repairs
in Germany,

it's as good as new and
ready for the trip home.

10 big crates weigh 55 tons,

and one really big crate,
the turbine's rotor,

weighs another 40.

Everything about this job
is supersized,

including the shipping
cost...

1.2 million
fat American dollars.

The schedule is tight.

It's three o'clock.

Takeoff time is at 7:00.

Vadym Konovko is
the flight manager.

Just 28 years old,
he's mister logistics,

supervising every
aspect of the job.

Right now he's going over
the details of the loading

with Dusseldorf ramp agent
Sam Dietrich.

Fueling after the load in.

[Sam] Yeah, okay.

Then we will
finish loading...

[Sam] The loading is finished
and after then we start
fueling.

Yeah, yeah.

[Narrator]
With the clock ticking,

the technical crew
starts the load in.

They have a built-in overhead
crane for the heavy lifting.

[Paul] There is one piece
which is 32 tons or
thereabouts.

That's too heavy for
the aircraft's own cranes.

And that's why we need to use
the ramp system.

We will put a platform,
moving platform, on these rails

and we will put
a cargo on platform.

We will take chains
and we will winch the cargo

inside the aircraft.

[Narrator] This beast is
built like a ferry boat.

The nose and tail open wide
to allow loading and
unloading

from both ends.

The immense cargo bay can
hold 42 cars stacked on two
levels.

Built into the nose is
a hydraulic mechanism

that lowers the big plane
for loading.

Supervising that critical
task is loadmaster Sergii
Onopchenko.

Secure placement of the load
is crucial.

It's all balanced like a
see-saw and chained down.

Even a small shift could
throw the plane's center of
gravity

out of whack,
making it tail-heavy,

disrupting airflow
over the wings

and sending it falling
out of the sky.

[Narrator] Sergii will follow
a computer-generated loading
plan

that specifies the exact
position of each crate

in the cargo bay...

Starting with the biggest...

the crate containing
the giant rotor.

It will go in through the
nose.

It's a job of inches.

One slip could cause
serious damage to the cargo,

or the plane.

The delicate process takes
60 nerve-wracking minutes

and comes off smoothly.

While the rest of his team
tears down the ramp and
rails,

Sergii makes sure the huge
crate is securely anchored.

Now the 10 remaining crates
come aboard through the tail.

They've all been custom-made
for the Antonov's cargo bay.

With the cargo on board,
the nose is raised...

The big doors are closed...

And the tanks are topped up
with 62 tons of jet fuel

for the first leg of the
flight.

Right on schedule,

the big wind turbine is ready
for its flight to Chile.

Now it's over to Dmitrii
and his flight crew.

They'll have a two-day
journey

with fuel and rest stops in
Spain, the Cape Verde
islands...

...and twice more in Recife
and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,

before finally touching down
in Santiago, Chile.

Every leg of their trip,
every stop,

has been scheduled and timed
to the minute.

But they're all used to
the rigorous hours

and supersized cargoes.

Need a bunch of cars
flown somewhere?

Or a locomotive?

Or maybe a yacht?

How about a plane in a plane?

They've all flown on one of
the seven Antonovs in the
fleet.

Every one of them is
on a tight schedule.

Including their costly
downtime

in the maintenance hangar
back in Kiev.

Today maintenance chief
Sergii Piatak

supervises a c-check...

a mandatory inspection

after every 2,000 hours
of flight time.

Here it's life or death
for the big 124.

If it fails to pass this
test,

it could be headed
for the scrap heap.

The c-check is no
look-under-the-hood,

kick-the-tires walk-around.

It takes three weeks
and covers everything...

engines, avionics and
airframe.

The more rigorous d-check...

stripping the plane
to the rivets...

takes three months.

[Narrator] This plane is in
its final week in the hangar.

It still needs
a landing gear test,

stress testing of
the wing flaps,

and reinstallation of
two overhauled engines.

Back in Dusseldorf, Dmitrii
does an inspection of his
own...

the pre-flight walk-around...

a multi-point check of flaps,
latches, lights, doors,

and especially the big tires

to make sure the 124
is good to go.

Should be with no damage.

Just sometimes checking inside

to find probably some stones,

something like this.

[Narrator] Dmitrii has plenty
of technical backup.

His crew of 18 includes
specialists in engine repair,

avionics and a lot more.

There are nine
technicians on aircraft,

and each technician,

he's responsible
for his own system.

[Narrator] Inside it looks
like a parts store.

The bulkheads crammed
with tires, lubricants,

and the nuts and bolts for
quick fixes on the fly.

I can't walk across
the tarmac and say,

"excuse me, I need a washer or
a seal for an Antonov 124".

They'll look at me
as if I'm crazy.

And we have spare parts.

In case of some damage,
we can fix it, change it.

[Narrator] But today one part
is missing...a reserator...

a cooling component
for the 124's avionics.

A supplier in Dusseldorf is
rushing a spare to the
airport.

40 minutes to departure,

Dmitrii verifies the weight
of the cargo, fuel load

and current weather
conditions.

He's ready for takeoff.

Well, almost.

The reserator still
hasn't arrived,

and they don't want
to leave without it.

Nobody is there.

Yeah, yeah,
I know, he's just right,

he made a wrong turn.

[Narrator] They need to
restock when and where they
can.

Time is running out.

The scheduled time
of departure

is in 10 minutes from now.

And we hope so.

[Narrator] Any delay will
have a ripple effect,

throwing the whole carefully
timed five legs of the flight

off schedule.

If that happens, it could
take days to sort it all
out,

costing both Antonov airlines
and their customer in Chile

a lot of money.

We are almost
ready for flight,

but we are waiting for one
spare part, spare part.

It should be very soon here.

[Narrator] It's a reserator,
a cooling component.

And the delivery guy is lost.

He couldn't find
the gate 36, you know.

That's the problem.

[Narrator] Less than five
minutes before departure,

the part arrives.

[Sam] Have a nice trip.
See you next time.

Bye-bye.

[Narrator] The big bird rolls
right on schedule.

330 tons of airplane,
fuel and cargo

is now in Dmitrii's hands.

[Controller] Antonov 2368,
departure holding...

[Narrator] To get it all
off the ground,

he'll need 9,000 feet of
runway.

The runway here is 10,000.

It's going to be close.

[Controller] 2368, hello.
Line up runway 05 right.

Give me a call when you're
fully ready for departure.

Lining up 05, right,

I'll call you when ready, 2368.

[Narrator] Flight engineer
Viktor Mozhaiev

monitors the four massive

Ivchenko-progress d-18
turbofan engines.

They must deliver every ounce

of their combined
200,000 pounds of thrust

or Viktor will call a no-go.

[Dmitrii] Tower, Antonov
2368, fully ready for
departure.

[Controller] 2368, it's
always good to have you
here,

you are cleared for takeoff,
goodbye.

[Narrator] Dmitrii redlines
the engines, pops the brakes,

and puts everything on the
line.

It's no jackrabbit start.

But the giant begins
accelerating down the runway.

15 seconds in, they reach
160 miles an hour,

and they're more than
halfway down the runway.

It's too late to stop now.

At 9,000 feet into the run

they accelerate past
180 miles an hour.

And then...

Airborne!

Precisely as planned with
1,000 feet of runway to
spare.

The first leg...
Dusseldorf to Vitoria, Spain.

Flying time,
two hours and 30 minutes

at an altitude of 35,000
feet.

Dmitrii Antonov is a former
military and test pilot.

Home for Dmitrii is Kiev, but
his second home is right
here.

1995, I start flying
this aircraft,

and total flight time,
about 13,000 hours.

[Narrator] Even after
all that flight time,

he's still amazed by
what the 124 can do.

We can take any cargo.

No other airplane can do it.

[Narrator] With the 124
aloft,

the tech crew who loaded
the cargo can get some rest.

But there's no
first-class cabin here.

The tech crew deck at the
back of the plane is bare
bones.

This plane was built
to be a workhorse.

It was commissioned by the
former Soviet Union in the
'80s

to haul the red army's
tanks, trucks and big guns.

By the '90s and
the end of the cold war,

the 124 was headed
for the boneyard.

But its creators in Kiev
saw an opportunity.

[Narrator] That not only
saved the plane,

it saved the Antonov company.

[Vadym] This aircraft,
Antonov 124,

was at correct place
at correct time,

because it start to operate,
to be operated by our company

for commercial flights
and gave us money,

which was very necessary to
keep our company alive.

[Narrator] The move from
military workhorse

to commercial cargo carrier
required several upgrades,

including computerized
flight controls,

sophisticated avionics, and
a new, more reliable engine.

The original 124s were
plagued by engine failures,

and the plane itself only had
a 20-year lifespan.

But with upgrades, that has
been more than doubled.

The key to extending their
life

is a lot of rigorous
maintenance.

Two of this 124's
Ivchenko-progress engines

are just back from a complete
factory overhaul.

Now it's time to re-hang them
on the plane.

Sergii's technicians watch
closely for any tiny flaw

that could threaten safety or
performance in the air.

Dmitrii and this 124
are on schedule,

well out of Germany,

and headed towards their
first stop in Vitoria, Spain.

Radio operator
Oleksandr Petrovskyi

tracks progress.

Okay, we can see on the map
on the computer,

we're now over
the France territory.

We passed the Belgium
and Germany,

and we are, shortly will be
entering the Spain airspace.

[Narrator] Up front Dmitrii
is already preparing for
arrival.

I think we will start
descent in about 10 minutes

and expect landing time
in 40 minute.

[Narrator] The 124 makes
a smooth landing

just after 9:00 p.m. Local
time.

This is just a pit stop.

Everyone stays on board,

except the tech crew
which sees to the fueling.

On the flight deck
everyone is busy

preparing for the next
leg of the trip.

They're airborne again
in 90 minutes,

and flying into trouble.

Next stop, the Cape Verde
islands in the mid-Atlantic,

the place where
hurricanes are born.

The weather report...high
winds.

Dmitrii will have to bring
the big 124 down

in vicious crosswinds
in the middle of the night.

The second leg...

a four-hour flight from Spain
to the Cape Verde islands.

Cape Verde will be no pit
stop.

Regulations require
a 12-hour rest break.

The crew of our company,
of Antonov company,

has a duty limit time.

Actually now we fly
with double crew

and the maximum duty time
is 18 hours.

[Narrator] But getting there
safely is going to be tricky.

The Cape Verde weather
station reports gusty
crosswinds

at the airport.

That means a potential
heavy landing

and major stress on the
plane's massive landing
gear.

That kind of problem has been
anticipated in Kiev

where senior technician
Vitaliy Khatin

supervises a key component
of the c-check,

the undercarriage test.

[Narrator] The main gear,
like everything else on the
124,

is immense.

Five sets of dual wheels on
each side share the weight.

If a tire blows, the others
will pick up the load.

Vitaliy must make sure
each set of wheels

extends and retracts
correctly every time.

He relays commands to
a technician in the cockpit.

[Narrator] Vitaliy checks for
full travel of the gear,

hydraulic leaks and anything
that might compromise the
tires.

When he's satisfied...

[Narrator] He moves on
to the nose gear...

And a glitch.

[motor whirs]

[whir]

[Narrator] The problem...
a drop in hydraulic pressure.

It's fixed with a few
adjustments on the flight
deck.

Vitaliy will run the test
again and again

to make sure the problem's
solved for good.

In the air, there are
no second chances.

2:00 a.m., 600 miles off the
African coast,

Dmitrii is on final approach
to Cape Verde.

The runway runs north and
south.

But treacherous and gusty
winds are blowing from the
west,

buffeting the big plane.

He wants to avoid a missed
approach, a go-around,

and a possible disaster.

Dmitrii calls on every one of
his 13,000 hours of flight
time,

crabbing the nose into the
wind

and applying just the right
amount of rudder,

to set the 124 down,
right on the button.

They're still on schedule and
still answering to the clock.

Even though there's
a 12-hour rest stop,

it can't begin until Dmitrii
dismisses his flight crew.

Every minute
he delays doing that,

delays the departure time and
threatens the rigid schedule.

Dmitrii's anxious to leave,

but won't until he has done
his walk-around.

Finally Dmitrii, satisfied
his plane is safe to fly
again,

declares the flight crew
officially off duty.

But for the tech crew,
the work has just begun.

The four-hour flight from
Spain has burned 82 tons of
jet fuel,

so the tanks will
have to be topped up

before taking off again.

But with 95 tons
of cargo on board,

there's a limit to how much
fuel can be added at each
stop.

[Vadym] This aircraft has
total takeoff weight.

And according to this
total takeoff weight,

according to the cargo, we can
calculate that amount of fuel,

maximum amount of fuel
we can take on board.

[Narrator] Empty, the 124 can
stay in the air for 14 hours

without refueling.

But with this load, the
maximum flight time is just
five hours.

While the plane is
being refueled,

other crew members check
the dozens of chains

that hold the cargo in place.

Even if a single piece
has shifted,

the 124's carefully plotted
center of gravity could
change,

causing the plane to
fall out of the sky.

[Narrator] Flight manager
Vadym checks every detail

for the next leg...
Cape Verde to Brazil.

I've got mobile internet, GPS
internet,

I can do all my paperworks,
take fresh weather forecast,

turbulences, wind charts.

[Narrator] And those weather
reports look ominous.

When they get back into the
air,

it won't be fair weather
flying.

At 4:00 a.m.,
two hours after landing,

Sergii and the tech crew
sign off.

Vadym is the last to leave.

[Vadym] Next, I will go to
hotel,

I just checking in
on the technical crew,

be sure, making sure they're
all fine, they're all okay,

and after that,
I will have a sleep.

[Narrator] 12 hours later,

everyone's back at the plane
to begin the second half

of their 7,500-mile journey.

[Oleksandr]
Destination is Recife,

that's city on the beach,
you see Brazil territory.

[Narrator]
The weather has worsened.

Vadym's meteorological
reports now show powerful
disturbances

along the flight path.

There's not so good
weather around Recife,

it's many thunderstorms.

[Narrator]
And they can be vicious

with turbulence
up to 50,000 feet...

15,000 feet higher than

the Antonov's maximum
cruising altitude.

Dmitrii won't risk flying
through them.

Maybe a little bit
deviation from our route.

[Narrator] Day two,
early evening.

Dmitrii's 124 takes off
from Cape Verde,

heading for
the coast of Brazil...

...on a wing and a prayer.

[radio chatter]

The third leg...
Cape Verde islands to Brazil.

Flying time, four hours at
an altitude of 28,000 feet.

[Narrator] Dmitrii changes
course to avoid the storms,

expecting to fall
behind schedule.

But he picks up strong
tailwinds

and reaches the coast of
Brazil three minutes ahead of
schedule.

[radio chatter]

The runway at Recife is
long enough at 11,000 feet,

but now it's wet and
slippery.

Water on the runway
reduces friction

and can cause hydroplaning.

The rookie temptation is
to stand on the brakes,

causing the plane to fishtail
and risking a crash.

But Dmitrii's no rookie.

He lets the 124's
aerodynamic friction

slowly rob the giant plane
of its speed.

It takes 15% more runway
to stop than usual,

but the landing is
under control.

Every takeoff and landing
puts enormous stress

on the 124's airframe.

In Kiev that's what
they're testing right now.

The flaps take
the biggest beating.

In the stress lab they're
subjected to pressure

and vibration that simulates
an actual landing.

And here the rule is,
the rougher, the better.

Technician Olga Lytvynenko
closely watches

the flaps' performance.

[Narrator] The 124's tail
and undercarriage

will get the same treatment.

If the plane fails
any one of these tests,

it won't be returned
to service.

[Narrator] Shippers around
the world keep the 124s
busy,

and demand is increasing.

[Narrator] So the 124's
reputation is on the line

with every flight
and every inspection.

In Recife, Dmitrii's 124
has been topped up

with 42 tons of fuel.

45 minutes after landing,
the plane is back in the air.

The fourth leg,
Recife to Rio de Janeiro,

flying time, two hours
and 45 minutes,

for another fuel stop.

The fifth and final leg...

Rio to Santiago, Chile.

Flying time,
four hours and 19 minutes.

This is the hardest,
most exhausting part

of the two-day journey.

They've been flying in the
dark

since leaving
the Cape Verde islands

and won't see daylight again
until they are over the
Andes.

At the Santiago airport,

flight coordinator
Sergio Mella prepares

for the 124's arrival.

[Mella]
The aircraft is coming,

flying over the Cordillera,
Los Andes,

and coming to Santiago.

[Narrator] The Antonov is
20 minutes from touchdown.

The aircraft is on time,
we have to go.

Let's go, then.

[Narrator] But there's
a new weather problem... fog.

We got the visibility,

one kilometer,
one or two kilometers.

We have to wait for
the weather information.

[Narrator] They've already
diverted some flights.

If it gets worse,
they might close Santiago,

sending Dmitrii to an
alternate airport in
Argentina.

Right now it's touch-and-go.

Back in the Kiev
maintenance hangar,

everything's on schedule.

Sergii Piatak and his crew
are close

to completing their
exhaustive, three-week
c-check

of this 124.

The four turbofan engines
have been overhauled.

The last one is being
re-installed.

[Narrator] It's the king of
torque wrenches,

precisely controlling the
force exerted on the bolts,

crucial when you're hanging
a 10-ton engine

on an airplane wing.

All that remains is
a final inspection.

A clean bill of health
from Sergii,

and this baby's
ready to fly again.

For Dmitrii,
things aren't so certain.

The clear skies 120 miles
out of Santiago are
deceiving.

On the approach,

the ceiling is down to
almost zero because of fog.

For this landing,

Dmitrii will rely on the
instrument landing system.

The ILS emits two signals

establishing the plane's
exact lateral and vertical
direction.

The autopilot
picks up those signals

and keeps the plane precisely
on its landing path,

the glide slope.

But Dmitrii won't know for
sure if the ILS has done its
job

until the 124 breaks
through the fog.

If he doesn't see
a runway below,

he'll have just seconds
to hit the throttles

and abort the landing.

The runway appears,
right on target.

And the cargo arrives
right on time.

Five miles before runway,

we are exactly on glide slope,
glide pass with normal speed

and safely landing.

Welcome to Chile!

[Narrator] And welcome to
the photo-op.

After 20 hours on board,

the flight crew is eager
to get some rest.

But they'll have to wait

while Dmitrii grants the
airport's public relations
crew

a rare interview.

Finally it's mission
accomplished

for the flight crew.

They leave for a hotel,

while the tech crew
begins the offload.

Vadym and Sergio work out
the logistics.

We need a big forklift

which can carry
four and a half tons.

Oh, right.

Four and a half and more.
Okay?

Yeah, sure.

[Narrator] It's one o'clock.

The unloading is scheduled
to take five hours,

so it should be done
well before dark.

But just when they think
all is in order...

They must have a visa.

So the hitch is,

the Ukrainians need a visa,
apparently.

We've been here before and
not had the problem.

So I'm guessing
they've changed the rules.

[Narrator] Vadym has to
sort this out,

or the tech crew will be
stuck on the plane all
night.

You can't have a shower,

it's much harder to
get a decent meal.

[Narrator] Vadym and Paul
consult with the authorities.

This guy is
the chief on duty,

told like, like just once

I will allow you to go to
the country without a visa,

but all the crew have
to go right now.

[Narrator] With the tech crew
at immigration,

the offload comes
to a standstill.

Nothing moves for
half an hour,

then an hour,

then 90 minutes.

After two full hours,
they're back

with temporary visas,
good for this one time.

3:00 p.m.,

now well behind schedule,

the crew takes less than an
hour

to unload the smaller crates
from the back of the plane.

Now they move to the nose
to tackle the big one,

the 40-ton wind turbine.

We just build rails,

we'll winch it
out of the aircraft.

The crane will pick it up,
put it on truck.

[Narrator] Vadym estimates
the unloading will be
completed

in just two hours.

In that moment,
the customer is happy.

[Narrator] The tech crew
makes short work

of the ramp and rail
assembly.

Now, a flatbed truck and
two cranes roll into place.

This lift will be trickier
than the loading in
Dusseldorf.

Crane manager Pablo Schuler
has planned the operation
carefully.

Each crane
will lift one of the end.

Then the load would,
will be turned in 90 degrees,

clockwise and then position
over the truck.

[Narrator] The two crane
operators must move in sync

or the big crate will fall.

It's more complicated
because each operator

must, must have
a better communication

with each other, you know?

[Narrator] The crate is
winched out of the hold.

At the moment, the cargo
is still on ramp system.

When it will be a few
centimeters off ramp system,

it will be, it will be
not our problem.

The show will start right now,
when we lift the cargo.

[Narrator] But the show
never gets started.

This crane is kaput.

[Paul] Clearly, they've got
a major hydraulic leak

with this crane.

They can't move the crane.

They can't shut the boom down.

They can't lift it off the
jacks and drive it out of the
way.

[Narrator] Technically, this
is the customer's problem.

But the 124 and its crew
are caught in the middle.

It's our problem because
that crane's not moveable.

We can't move the cargo

without the piece gets lifted
off our extension ramp.

So we're stuck.

[Narrator] 4:00 p.m.,
a new crane arrives.

But the unloading plan
is out the window.

The broken crane can't move,

so the third crane has to
come in at a different angle.

The idea is to move in
that direction, the truck,

and then lift the cargo in
an anti-clockwise direction.

[Narrator] They'll work with
just inches to spare.

[Schuler] Our maximum risk
is to have contact

with the nose of the plane,
you know.

Because the ropes will be
very close to the nose.

[Narrator] Sergii and Vadym
don't like it.

We will be very close
to the nose,

so that's why loadmaster is
here and he will be watching.

[Narrator] Any miscalculation
by the crane operators,

or even a gust of wind,

and the 124's nose
could be damaged,

grounding the aircraft
for weeks.

It seems like
these cranes have to go,

have to be moved a little bit
further from the aircraft.

[Narrator] This could be
a disastrous end

to what was a perfect
mission.

If the 124 is damaged,

it could be weeks before
it gets off the ground again.

And with just seven of them
in operation,

it could be a serious blow
to the business.

Sergii isn't happy
about the arrangement,

but he's willing to give
the lift a try.

[Narrator] Vadym sticks
close,

ready to call off the lift
at the first sign of trouble.

Worried about
the aircraft.

Just worried not
to damage aircraft.

That's the main thing.

[Narrator] But these crane
operators are real pros.

And the lift goes smoothly.

Very nice.
[laughs]

Finally we're finished,
with daylight.

Now our flight
is finished.

The contract is accomplished,
so we're good to go.

It's good now.

[Narrator] The two-day,
7,500-mile job

was tightly scheduled and
meticulously planned.

But experience has taught
these guys one big lesson.

[Paul] Whatever you plan,

and however many contingencies
you try to cover,

you can't cover them all.

And, well, the crane broke,
so what are you going to do?

You're going to solve
the problem.

[Narrator] After a few hours
in the luxury of a Santiago
hotel,

Dmitrii and his crew are
back, gearing up for the next
mission.

The pace is relentless.

In just 10 hours they're due
in Albuquerque, New Mexico,

to load the 124 with
aerospace parts for delivery
to Hanoi.

Then they're off to China,
Japan and Pakistan.

[radio chatter]

Well, if you take
the hours it's flown

and divide that roughly
by the number of hours

it takes to go
around the world once,

it's been around the world
about 900 times.

If you count
the countries I have visited,

I have all, visited all the
continents, except Antarctica.

Sometimes when asking

where have you been
on this aircraft?

I think it's much better to ask

where is the place
where we have never been?

[Narrator] So if you see
a four-engined giant

soaring over your town,
give it a wave.

It may well be
Dmitrii and his crew

doing another big lift
in the mighty Antonov 124,

king of cargo planes.