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The Antonov An-124 Ruslan (NATO reporting name: Condor) is the largest aircraft ever mass produced, and was, until the advent of the Antonov An-225, the largest aircraft in production. It flew for the first time in 1982. Over forty are currently in service in Russia and Ukraine.
Physically, the An-124 is similar to the American C-5 Galaxy, but is larger in many dimensions. An-124s have been used to carry locomotives, yachts, aircraft fuselages, and a variety of other oversized cargoes. Up to 150 tonnes of cargo can be carried in a military An-124: it can also carry 88 passengers in an upper deck behind the cockpit.
Germany intends to lease An-124s for NATO strategic airlift requirements as a stopgap until the Airbus A400M is available . Boeing also has used Russian cargo company Volga-Dnepr to ship outsize aircraft components to their Everett plant with their An-124 fleet. Specifically, the An-124 is the only means of airlifting the General Electric GE90 turbofan engines used in the Boeing 777 airliner.
A Ukrainian An-124 was featured in the James Bond film Die Another Day.
As of 2004, there have been four major crashes of An-124s, with a total of 50 fatalities.
Related development: An-225
Comparable aircraft: C-5 Galaxy
Designation sequence: An-72 - An-74 - An-88 - An-124 - An-140 - An-148 - List of civil aircraft
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