Antonov Airlines transports five helicopters from Poland to the Philippines
18 / 06 / 2021
Antonov Airlines has flown five S-70i Black Hawk helicopters from Rzeszów in Poland to Angeles in the Philippines.
The helicopters — which each measured 17.52 m in length, 3.2 m in width, 3.9 m in height and weighed 5.6 tonnes — were transported on a single AN-124-100 charter flight.
The carrier said loading and unloading plans were developed by its inhouse engineers to ensure the safe stowage and transport of the special cargo in the aircraft cabin.
The loading procedure was carried out using the AN-124-100’s winches.
Amnon Ehrlich, director North America – aerospace, government and defence programmes, commented: “Although the total payload in terms of weight was quite light for our aircraft – loading five helicopters safely and transporting them without damage takes considerable collaboration.
“We have been working closely with Sikorsky as well as their logistics supplier Helicopter International Shipping Services (HISS) for several months to ensure that all current and future program requirements are met.”
The first transport under the agreement was completed in November 2020 and was also for five S-70i Black Hawk helicopters, which were delivered to Clark Air Base in the Philippines.
