In 1988, Antonov Aviation built the world's largest cargo aircraft, the AN-225, named Mriya (translated from Ukrainian, means Dream) and landed it at the Gostomel airport, in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Its specifications were astonishing: it was 275 feet long, 288 feet wide and 59 feet tall. To understand just how enormous Mriya was imagine a six-story house with four entrances. The Mriya weighed 350 tons (700,000 lbs.) and could lift another 250 tons (500,000 lbs.). This was an absolute record. Mriya was a beast. No plane on earth could come close to that much carrying capacity. For example, Mriya could transport a herd of 42 elephants, or more than 1.8 million iPhones.
Over the years, the Mriya AN-225, has transported giraffes, yachts, parts of power plants and other large items other planes could not transport. Mriya carried the first Soviet "Shuttle" called "Buran" made its longest flight. After a short flight into space, the Buran remained grounded, but the Mriya would continue to soar!
Such an amazing feat of engineering has rarely been seen on earth. Each takeoff and landing of the Mriya became spectacle, attracting the press and people from all over the world.
But in February 2022, Mriya was savagely destroyed by Russian rockets and artillary, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
You can destroy a plane, but you can't kill a dream. One day Mriya will fly again.