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On the April 1 2001 an American spy aircraft
EP-3 and a Chinese fighter collided above South-China sea.
After series of negotiations between the two sides on July
5 disassembled EP-3 was delivered by AN-124-100 of air company
"Polet" to the United States. The aircraft was carried
from Hainan Island to Dobbins air base located close to Atlanta
city. Director general of the air operator A. Karpov has disclosed
the details of the unique operation.
Upon return of the American crew home, USA and China started
long negotiations on the return of the aircraft. After the
American side has expressed deep regret regarding the incident,
the Chinese agreed to give the aircraft back. However, there
was no permission to fly EP-3. A few options were considered:
it could be delivered by sea or disassembled and hauled in
parts by C-5 or "Ruslan" aircraft could take the
plane and carry it back home. The Chinese rejected the first
two options. They did not even allow the American ships to
approach Hainan Island, the landing of the freighter C-5 was
turned down as well. Therefore, an international tender for
transportation of EP-3 was announced in which Ukrainian "Antonov
airlines", the Russian "Volga-Dnepr" and "Polet"
were taking part. For a number of reasons, the Americans have
given preference to "Polet". The key factors were
the availability of state-of-the art onboard equipment aboard
all "Polet" aircraft and their compliance with all
international cargo carrier regulations.
The winning of the tender was also largely due to "Polet's"
long-standing role and 7-year experience in transportation
of outsized cargoes to different countries and regions. The
company previously delivered rockets, aircraft and helicopters.
One of the similar operations was the delivery of damaged
Fokker-100 from Iran to Australia. This time the company experts
have in advance made all the preparations including selection
of the necessary rigging.
We have provided the Americans with information regarding
the flight safety, our experience in performing similar tasks,
our company's technical capabilities. There were no problems
with operating to the USA as the company has been performing
cargo deliveries to this country since 1998. We have also
provided the Chinese with the required documents and all the
issues were settled promptly. Although the main concern of
the Chinese authorities was the danger of damaging runway
by multi-ton "Ruslan". They restricted the maximum
landing weight to be 280 tons; they also imposed limitations
on take-off roll. All the requirements set by the Chinese
party were satisfied.
The route of the first flights made by Polet's AN-124-100
was from Hainan to US military air base in Okinawa, where
the aircraft carried the necessary equipment. From Okinawa,
EP-3 was transported to Dobbins air base located close to
Atlanta city. All parties were satisfied with the job done
by "Polet". The American experts performing removal
on EP-3 in Hainan Island even presented a special diploma
to the Russian crew members.
In America the return of the aircraft was nearly a national
feast. On the day of EP-3 arrival euphoria and exultation
were in the air throughout all the country. In effect the
return of "the prodigal son" EP-3 made a national
sensation. Here is the quotation from "The Atlanta Journal
Constitution": "Michel Whittkinson, the president
and CEO of Tailwind International, which has been coordinating
delivery issues of EP-3 from China to USA, said it was her
pleasure to work at this assignment. She added that the Russian
crew made a flawless effort; they are truly a world-class
crew. Another newspaper "The Atlanta Journal" published
a praising article "The Russian plane came to Marietta
with disassembled aircraft", which reported that "Cargo
aircraft AN-124 landed in Dobbins air base around 7.30 A.M.
By 7.00 all the parking lots near shopping centers were crowded
by spectators who came to see the gigantic Russian plane."
Hundreds of spectators filled the parking lots of highway
41 in order to watch the landing of Giant AN-124.
Source: Russian newspaper "Aviaglobus" August,
2001
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