Ukrainian cargo plane that’s one of the heaviest in the world lands at US airport with special delivery

A massive Ukrainian cargo plane, among the heaviest aircrafts in the world, flew to Denver International Airport this week to drop off a helicopter, officials said.

The airport highlighted the special visit as the Antonov 124-100 military transport plane, capable of fitting a Boeing 737 inside of it, touched down Tuesday.

“Extra large airplane coming through!,” Denver airport officials wrote of the AN-124 aircraft on Instagram. “We were treated yesterday to a rare visitor – this Antonov 124-100.

“One of the largest aircraft in the world, it is specifically designed for carrying heavy or bulky loads,” officials added.

Images from the unloading process reveal that the plane, which can carry more than 150 tons of cargo, was delivering a helicopter, which was wrapped up in a black tarp and hauled off by the airport crew.

Officials did not state where the chopper was being delivered to.

The time of the delivery lines up with that of the Antonov Design Bureau’s Flt. 3784, which had completed a 13-hour flight from Milan, according to Flight Aware.

The AN-124 was originally designed by the Soviet Union and made in Ukraine, where the massive 226-foot-long aircraft first took flight in December 1982, according to Antonov.

The company boasts that the planes have broken several world records since their development, with one AN-124 carrying more than 188 tons of cargo as high as 6.6 miles in the sky in July 1985.

The AN-124 remains among the largest aircrafts used by Russian and Ukrainian carriers, with both nations employing its use in their ongoing war with each other.

The aircrafts made headlines last year when Russia demanded Canada release a seized AN-124 that was in the country before the Kremlin launched its invasion of the Ukraine in 2022, according to Russian state media.

Canadian officials decided to hand the plane over to Ukraine to help with the war effort against Russia, Business Insider reported.