Giant Cargo Jet Visits Tulsa Again

A giant cargo jet from Ukraine is visiting Tulsa again.

The jet is an Antonov AN-124. It landed at Tulsa International Airport at 5:30 on Thursday afternoon.

Shelly Lewandowski with Atlantic Aviation at TIA says the company that flies the jet usually uses her company when the jet comes to town. She said the jet brought cargo from Poland to Tulsa on this trip. 

The massive jet used to be common sight in Tulsa, mostly because of airplane parts it was hauling for Spirit AeroSystems. Lewandowski said Spirit was building wings for Gulfstream business jets and had a backlog, so it used the Antonov to quickly haul the wings to their final destination. Once it worked through the backlog, the Antonov wasn't needed.

The airplane was built specifically to haul very large and/or heavy loads, making it a perfect tool for carrying oilfield equipment and aviation parts produced in the Tulsa area. 

Lewandowski says the crew of this AN-124 is waiting to hear what its next trip will be, so she doesn't yet know when it will leave. She says the Antonov crews who come to Tulsa love to go shopping, especially at Walmart.  

Shanna Tedder took some spectacular photos of the jet as it landed in Tulsa on May 4, 2017 and they're attached to this story.