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WARNING – The carbon monoxide level would be increasing dramatically in the Moscow region as well as in the capital center. According to some sources, hotspots rose up to 564. Italy and Ukraine promised aircraft to smother fires. France reportedly is about to provide some help as well.
A Lufthansa MD-11 aircraft (modern DC-10) is reported to have crashed while landing at King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh today. Casualties have not been reported so far.
A plume of smoke could be seen as the commercial airplane reportedly caught fire in the crash, then was split into two parts according to Al Arabiya channel.
The captain and first officer would have been hospitalized.
The Beriev Be-2500 Neptune is a super-heavy transport seaplane proposed by the Beriev Aircraft Company of Russia. Its maximum take-off weight should reach 2,500 tons! It would be the largest aircraft ever proposed. It might weigh four times more than the largest aircraft in the world, the Antonov An-225.
This gigantic project would range from $10 to $15 billion. The Be-2500 would be a « flying ship » able to compete with the maritime shipping and air transport industries. Its size is not clearly quoted due to a discrepancy in the figures available. However, it would nearly double the Airbus A380 size!
It is deemed to be an ekranoplane (also known as a « wing-in-ground-effect – WIG », « flarecraft », « wing-in-surface-effect ship – WISE », « sea skimmer », « ground effect vehicle – GEV » thanks to its cushion of high-pressure air provided by the aerodynamic interaction between the wings and the surface, which is known as ground effect.
Last but not least, it could fly far over the surface (airborne) like any heavy cargo. Watch what it could look below: