Air Ukraine
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| Founded | 1992 | ||||||
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| Ceased operations | 2002 (flight operations suspended) 2004 (AOC revoked)[1] | ||||||
| Hubs | Boryspil International Airport | ||||||
| Headquarters | Kiev, Ukraine | ||||||
Air Ukraine (Ukrainian: Авіалінії України) was a state-owned airline from Ukraine, serving as flag carrier of the country from 1992 to 2002. Headquartered in Kiev,[2] Air Ukraine operated scheduled passenger and cargo flights mostly on domestice routes or within the Commonwealth of Independent States, but also to other European cities and to North America.[citation needed]
History
The Dissolution of the Soviet Union during 1990 and 1991 lead to the split-up of former national carrier Aeroflot in 1992, with Air Ukraine being founded out of the Kiev directorate.[1] Soon, other Ukrainian divisions were merged into it to create a national airline.[citation needed]
In December 2002, Air Ukraine was declared to be bankrupt.[3] Attempts to relaunch the company by merging it with Aerosvit Airlines or Ukraine International Airlines failed,[citation needed] and the airline license was finally withdrawn on 23 July 2004.[1]
Fleet
Over the years, Air Ukraine operated the following aircraft types:[1][4]
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| Aircraft | Introduced | Retired | Total Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antonov An-12 | |||
| Antonov An-24 | |||
| Antonov An-26 | |||
| Antonov An-30 | |||
| Antonov An-32 | |||
| Antonov An-124 | |||
| Boeing 737-200 | |||
| Boeing 737-300 | |||
| Boeing 737-400 | |||
| Ilyushin Il-18 | |||
| Ilyushin Il-62 | |||
| Ilyushin Il-76 | |||
| Let L-410 Turbolet [citation needed] |
|||
| Tupolev Tu-134 | |||
| Tupolev Tu-154 | |||
| Yakovlev Yak-40 | |||
| Yakovlev Yak-42 |
The large number of Soviet-made former Aeroflot aircraft came to Air Ukraine upon its foundation in 1992, with most of them being phased out over the following years. When the airline was shut down in 2002, only three Tupolev Tu-134 and one Tu-154 were operational.[citation needed]
Incidents
- On 5 September 1992, the crew of an Air Ukraine Tupolev Tu-154 (registered CCCP-85269) with 147 people on board had to execute a belly-landing at Boryspil International Airport because the landing gear could not be deployed. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.[5]
- On 27 October 1993, the nosegear of an Air Ukraine Let L-410 Turbolet (registered UR-67536) was torn off while on the ground at Tyumen Airport when the pilots accidentally maneuvered the aircraft with eight people on board off the paved taxiway.[6]
- On 23 January 1995, another Turbolet (registered UR-67115) was destroyed when it crashed on a frozen lake whilst approaching Provedenia Airport in Russia because of an engine failure. The three crew members on board had been on an empty ferry flight from Anadyr Airport, which was planned to continue onwards to Honduras, to where the aircraft had been sold. There were no fatalities.[7]
- On 4 April of the same year, the pilots of an Air Ukraine Antonov An-26 (registered UR-26049) tried to take off from Palana Airport without having released the brakes. The aircraft thus was not able to get airborne, and overshot the runway, being damaged beyond economical repair. The nine persons that had been on the chartered flight to Ust-Pakhachi Airport survived the accident.[8]
References
- ^ a b c d Information about Air Ukraine at the Aero Transport Data Bank
- ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 20–26 March 2001. 72.
- ^ "Directory: World airlines." Flight International. 16–22 March 2004. 77.
- ^ Air Ukraine fleet list (Western-built aircraft only) at airfleets.net
- ^ 1992 incident at the Aviation Safety Network
- ^ 1993 incident at the Aviation Safety Network
- ^ January 1995 accident at the Aviation Safety Network
- ^ April 1995 accident at the Aviation Safety Network
External links
