The commander of the crew of the destroyed An-225 "Mriia" aircraft Dmitry Antonov said that there is a chance to create a new such aircraft.
He spoke about this in an interview with the Voice of America.
Captain Antonov visited the ruins of the plane after the deoccupation of Hostomel and believes, like some experts, that it is impossible to restore the plane. But there is a chance to create a new one — the Antonov enterprise has an unfinished part of the "sister" of "Mriia".
"The whole contour we see, without stuffing, is iron. There is iron. Need electronics and other fillings. They talked about amounts from 800 million to 3 billion. But the amount, you know, is very large and plus such a difference in assessment, it says only one thing: that no one has really estimated yet," says Dmitry Antonov.
He adds that regardless of the amount, investments in the new "Mriia" are unlikely to pay off.
- On March 19, Dmitry Antonov said that the An-225 could have been saved from enemy shelling in Hostomel, but the plane was destroyed by the irresponsibility of the leadership. He was not evacuated, although it was possible.
- Already on March 24, "Antonov" opened an account to raise funds for the restoration of "Mriia".
- On March 29, Ukroboronprom removed Serhiy Bychkov from the post of general director of the Antonov state enterprise following an official investigation after verifying certain facts.