ILYUSHIN IL-76

The 'Ilyushin Il-76' (NATO reporting name: 'Candid') is a 4-engined strategic airlifter designed in the Soviet Union and in widespread use in Europe, Asia and Africa. It is the most widely used large cargo plane in the world. The Il-76 was responsible for carrying some 90% of ramp-delivered airfreight from all of Europe, and at least 90% of all disaster relief aid worldwide. A water-carrying version of the plane is used for fire-fighting operations in many countries.

Design and development

The aircraft was first conceived by Ilyushin in 1967 to meet a requirement for a freighter able to carry a payload of 40 tons (88,000 lb) over a range of 5,000 km (2,700 nautical miles; 3,100 statute miles) in less than six hours, able to operate from short and unprepared airstrips, and capable of coping with the worst weather conditions likely to be experienced in Siberia and the Soviet Union's Arctic regions. The basic layout of the plane was similar to the US-built Lockheed C-141 Starlifter, but the new design had a larger cargo hold area and more powerful engines to achieve the desired performance. It first flew on March 25, 1971, and is still in production in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Operational history

Ilyushin Il-76MD of Iraqi Airways at Basle in 1984

Between 1979 and 1991, the Soviet Air Force Il-76s made 14,700 flights into Afghanistan, transporting 786,200 servicemen, and 315,800 tons of freight. The Il-76 carried 89% of Soviet troops and 74% of the freight that was airlifted.^[1] Building on that experience, the bulk of the Canadian Forces equipment into Afghanistan is flown in using civilian Il-76^[2].
On August 29, 2005, the day before the levees of New Orleans gave way to the forces of Hurricane Katrina, the Russian Federation offered humanitarian aid to the United States. Two (2) EMERCOM Il-76 aircraft landed at a disaster aid staging area at Little Rock, Arkansas September 8. This marks the first time Russia has flown such a mission to North America. A second Emergency Situations ministry Il-76 first-aid shipment, specially arranged with the U.S. leadership, departed Russia for Little Rock September 14.
India also used an Il-76 to deliver aid on September 13, 2005 for Katrina victims.
The Il-76 is also in use as an airborne tanker, otherwise known as a refueller ('Il-78'), and a waterbomber. Its airframe was used as a base for the Beriev A-50 'Mainstay' AWACS aircraft.

Variants

Military variants

★ 'Il-76D' - ('D' for Desantniy, Десантный - "for paratroopers") has a gun turret in the tail for defense purposes.

★ 'Il-76M' - Transport version.

★ 'Il-76MD' - Transport version.

★ 'Il-76MD-90' - An Il-76MD with Aviadvigatel PS-90 engines.

★ 'Il-76MF' - Stretched military version.

★ 'Il-76PP' - Il-76MD-based radio jammer

★ 'Il-78MKI' - Tanker version for the Indian Air Force. Has mid-air refueling pods.

★ 'Il-76 Phalcon' - For the Indian Air Force. Hosts Phalcon radar for AWACS.

★ 'SKIP' - (СКИП - Самолетный Контрольно-Измерительный Пункт, Airborne Check-Measure-and-Control Point) - Il-76/A-50 based aircraft initially built to support Kh-55 cruise missile tests.

Civil variants

Ilyushin Il-76T

★ 'Il-76T' - ('T' for Transport, Транспортный) unarmed civil cargo transport version. NATO code-name 'Candid-A'. It first flew on November 4, 1978.

★ 'Il-76TD' - The civil equivalent of the Il-76MD, first flew in 1982.

★ 'Il-76TD-90VD' - An Il-76TD with Aviadvigatel PS-90 engines and a partial glass cockpit.

★ 'Il-76TF' - Civil transport stretched version with Aviadvigatel PS-90 engines. It is the civil version of the Il-76MF.

★ 'Il-76P' - Firefighting aircraft. The Il-76 waterbomber is a VAP-2 1.5 hour install/removal tanking kit conversion. The Il-76 can carry up to 13,000 U.S. gallons (49,000 liters) of water; 3.5 times the capacity of the C-130 Hercules. Since this kit can be installed on any Il-76, the designation Il-76TP, Il-76TDP are also used when those versions of the Il-76 are converted into waterbombers. The Il-76P was first unveiled in 1990.

Foreign Variants

KJ-2000

Main articles: KJ-2000

Domestic Chinese AWACS conversion of Il-76 after the setback of the A-50I.
The current 'KJ-2000' AWACS in Chinese service is equipped with a domestic Active Electronically Scanned Array active phased array radar system similar to the Swedish Ericsson's Erieye radar. The radar is designed by the Research Institute of Electronic Technology (also more commonly known as the 14th Institute) at Nanjing, and it utilizes the experience gained from the 14th Institute's earlier indigenously developed Type H/LJG-346 SAPARS ('S'hipborne 'A'ctive 'P'hased 'A'rray 'R'adar 'S'ystem) that was completed in 1998 (the same Type H/LJG-346 SAPARS was also the predecessor of the active phased array radar system onboard PLAN Lanzhou class destroyer). Chinese claim that the domestic radar is superior to the Israeli radar and it can track more targets at greater range. The radar is arranged in the same way as that of A-50I.

CFTE Engine Testbed

China Flight Test Establishment (CFTE) currently operates a flying testbed converted from a Russian-made Il-76MD jet transport aircraft to serve as a flying testbed for future engine development programmes. The first engine to be tested on the aircraft is the WS-10A “Taihang” turbofan, currently being developed as the powerplant for China’s indigenous J-10 and J-11 fighter aircraft. The #76456 Il-76MD, acquired by the AVIC 1 from Russia in the 1990s, is currently based at CFTE’s flight test facility at Yanliang, Shaanxi Province.

Adnan I

Iraqi development (with French assistance) with fibreglass-reinforced plastic radome over the antenna of the Thomson-CSF Tiger G surveillance radar with a maximum detection range of 189 nm (217.5 miles; 350 km). None operational after the Gulf War.

Operators

Il-76 operators (countries only operating civil aircraft are in blue)

Both military and civil operators in 38 countries have operated 850+ Il-76 in large numbers. While Russia is the largest military operator of the Il-76, followed by Ukraine and India, Belarus' TransAVIAexport Airlines is the largest civilian operator. In the list below, known current operators are listed in 'bold'.

★ 'United Nations'

★
★ The 'United Nations Humanitarian Air Service' operated one Il-76 until February 2006.

★ ''

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★ The 'Algerian Air Force' operates 17 Il-76 aircraft, including 3 Il-76MD, 8 Il-76TD, and 6 Il-78.

★ ''

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★ 'Gira Globo' operates 1 Il-76.^[3]

★ ''

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★ The 'Armenian Air Force' operates 2 Il-76 aircraft.

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★ Dvin Airlines has operated an Il-76TD.

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★ 'Yerevan-Avia' operates 1 Il-76.

★ ''

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★ The 'Azerbaijan Air Force' operates 3 Il-76 aircraft.

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★ 'Azal Avia Cargo' operates 1 Il-76TD.

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★ 'Azerbaijan Airlines' operates 1 Il-76M.

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★ 'Silk Way Airlines' operates 8, including 1 Il-76MD and 7 Il-76TD.

★ ''

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★ The Belarusian Air Force inherited a number of Il-76 aircraft from the Soviet Air Force.

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★ Belair operated the Il-76 before its closure in 1999.

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★ 'TransAVIAexport Airlines' operates 23, including 5 Il-76MD and 18 Il-76TD.

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★ 'Gomelavia' operates 5 Il-76TD.

★ ''

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★ 'Faso Airways' operates a single Il-76TD.

★

★
★ Centrafrican Airlines

★

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★ Imtrec Aviation has operated a Laotian registered Il-76.

★

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★ SkyLink Aviation - charters Ilyushin Il-76MD, Ilyushin Il-76TD

★ ''

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★ The 'People's Liberation Army Air Force' operates 17 Il-76 aircraft, including 3 KJ-2000 AWACS versions and some Il-78 tankers, with a further 30 due for delivery.

★
★ China United Airlines has operated the Il-76, but does not currently.

★ ''

★
★ The Republic of the Congo operates an Il-76.

★ ''

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★ 'Cubana de Aviación' operates 1 Il-76MD.

★

★
★ Air Congo has operated the Il-76.^[4]

★ ''

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★ 'Ecuatorial Cargo' operates 1 Il-76TD.^[5]

★
★ Express International Cargo

★

★
★ Atlant Hungary has operated the Il-76.^[6]

★
★ Hungarian Ukrainian Air Cargo has operated the Il-76^[7]

★ ''

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★ The 'Indian Air Force' operates 24 Il-76MD, 6 Il-78MKI aircraft and 3 others with Israeli Phalcon radars for AWACS.

★ ''

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★ The 'Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force' operates the Il-76.

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★ The 'Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Air Force' operates the Il-76, including some modified to carry AWACS radar.

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★ Atlas Air has operated at least 8 Il-76TD.^[8]

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★ Chabahar Air has operated at least 2 Il-76TD.^[9]

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★ Mahan Air has operated the Il-76.

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★ 'Payam Air' operates 2 Il-76TD.

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★ 'Qeshm Air' operates 2 Il-76TD.

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★ Safiran Airlines is a former operator.

★ ''

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★ The Iraqi Air Force operated the Il-76, but none remain in service.

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★ 'Iraqi Airways' operates a single Il-76.

★ ''

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★ The 'Royal Jordanian Air Force' operates 2 Il-76 aircraft.

★ ''

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★ The 'Government of Kazakhstan' operates 1 Il-76.

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★ 'Air Almaty' operates an Il-76TD for leased operations.^[10]

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★ Air Kazakhstan operated Il-76 aircraft until its closure in 2004.

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★ 'GST Aero' operates 1 Il-76T.^[11]

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★ Kazakhstan Airlines operated the Il-76TD before its closure in 1997.

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★ Sayakhat Airlines operated the Il-76 previously.

★ ''

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★ 'Botir Avia' operates 3, including 1 Il-76MD and 2 Il-76TD.

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★ 'Kyrgyzstan Airlines' operates 1 Il-76TD.

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★ 'Reem Air'

★ ''

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★ 'Inversija' operates 3, including 2 Il-76T and 1 Il-76TD.

★ ''

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★ The Libyan Air Force has operated the Il-76 although it may not remain in service.

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★ 'Buraq Air' operates 6, including 3 Il-76MD and 3 Il-76TD.

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★ 'Jamahiria Air Transport' operates the Il-76M, Il-76TD, and Il-78.^[12]

★
★ 'Libyan Air Cargo', the cargo division of Libyan Arab Airlines, operates 21, including 1 Il-76M and 15 Il-76TD.

★
★ Tobruk Air

★ ''

★
★ 'Transafrica Airlines'

★ ''

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★ Aerocom operated an Il-76MD as well as an Il-76T until as late as January 2005.

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★ Airline Transport operated a number of Il-76 aircraft, losing 3 in accidents in 2004 and 2005.

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★ 'Jet Line International' operates the Il-76^[13]

★
★ Tiramavia

★ ''

★
★ 'North Korean Air Force'

★
★ 'Air Koryo'

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★ 'Civil Aviation Administration of Korea'

★ ''

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★ The 'Russian Air Force' inherited large numbers of the aircraft from the Soviet Air Force in 1991, and 210 currently remain in service.

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★ The 'Ministry of Emergency Situations' operates an Il-76TD.

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★ 'Abakan Avia' operates 3 Il-76TD.

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★ Aeroflot operated large numbers of aircraft, especially during Soviet years, often on behalf of the Soviet military. However, none remain in service with the airline.

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★ Air STAN operated an Il-76TD.^[14]

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★ 'Airlines 400' operates 2 Il-76TD.

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★ 'Airstars Airways' operates 4 Il-76TD on cargo services.

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★ ALAK operated Il-76 aircraft before its closure in 1999.

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★ 'Alrosa-Avia' operates 4 Il-76TD on charter services.

★
★ Aram Air

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★ 'Atlant-Soyuz Airlines' operates 6, including 2 Il-76MD and 4 Il-76TD.

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★ 'ATRAN Cargo Airlines' operates 5, including 3 Il-76T and 2 Il-76TD. At least one Il-76M may have been operated in the past.

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★ 'Atruvera Aviation' operates 3, including 1 Il-76MD and 2 Il-76TD.

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★ 'Aviacon Zitotrans' operates 5, including 4 Il-76TD.

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★ Aviaenergo operated the aircraft, but none remain in service.

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★ 'Aviast' operates 4, including 1 Il-76MD and 3 Il-76TD.

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★ Continental Airways has operated the Il-76 in the past, but does not do so currently.

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★ Dacono Air has operated the Il-76.

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★ 'Dobrolet Airlines' operates 3 Il-76TD.

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★ Domededovo Airlines has operated the Il-76, but none are currently in service.

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★ East Line operates the Il-76.

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★ 'Ilavia Airline' operates 6, including 2 Il-76MD and 4 Il-76TD.

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★ KrasAir operated the Il-76, but none are currently in service.

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★ Krylo Airlines operated 2 Il-76TD into 2005.

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★ 'Magadan Avia Leasing' is a lease and charter operator of the Il-76.

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★ Moscow Airways operated an Il-76TD in the early 1990s.^[15]

★
★ Novosibirsk Air Enterprise operated the Il-76, but none are currently in service.

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★ Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise operated the Il-76, but none are currently in service.

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★ Samara Airlines operates 2 Il-76TD.

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★ 'Tesis Aviation Enterprise' operates 9 Il-76TD.

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★ Tyumen Airlines

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★ Uralinteravia

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★ 'Volga-Dnepr' operates 7 Il-76TD.

★ ''

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★ 'Air Tomisko' operates a single Il-76TD.

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★ 'Kosmas Air' operates a single Il-76TD.

★ ''

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★ 'Aerolift Sierra Leone' operates Il-76 aircraft for special charter and cargo lift operations.^[16]

★

★
★ The Soviet Air Force operated hundreds of the aircraft, with an inventory of 310 in 1987. Most were dispersed to the successor states upon the breakup of the Soviet Union.

★
★ Aeroflot was the main civil user of the aircraft during the period of the Soviet Union, although many of its aircraft were operated on behalf of the military.

★
★ Jet Air Cargo was one of the first civil operators of the Il-76 in Russia other than Aeroflot.^[17]

★ ''

★
★ 'Air West' operated a small number of aircraft, although it is unclear how many remain in service.

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★ 'Azza Transport' operates 2 Il-76TD.

★
★ East West Cargo operated a number of Il-76 aircraft.

★
★ 'Juba Cargo' operates the Il-76^[18]

★
★ 'Badr Airlines' operates 1 Il-76,}[1]

★
★ Trans Attico

★ ''

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★ The 'Syrian Air Force' operates the Il-76.

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★ 'Syrian Arab Airlines' operates 4, including 3 Il-76M.

★ ''

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★ 'Turkmenistan Airlines' operates 8 Il-76TD.

★ ''

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★ The 'Ukrainian Air Force' inherited a large number of Il-76 aircraft from the Soviet Air Force, with as many as 100 remaining in service.

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★ Air Service Ukraine operated the Il-76MD.

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★ Air Ukraine and Air Ukraine Cargo operated the aircraft, although none were in service at the time of bankruptcy.

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★ 'ATI Aircompany' operates a number of Il-76 models.

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★ 'Azov Avia Airlines' operates 2 Il-76MD.

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★ BSL Airline operated as many as 6 Il-78.^[19]

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★ Busol Airlines operated the Il-76 before its closure in 1998.

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★ 'Khors Aircompany' operates 2 Il-76MD.

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★ 'Lviv Airlines' operates 3 Il-76MD.

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★ South Airlines is a former operator.

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★ 'Ukraine Air Alliance' operates 4, including 1 Il-76MD and 3 Il-76TD.

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★ 'Ukrainian Cargo Airways' operates 21, including 19 Il-76MD.

★
★ Veteran Airlines

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★ 'Volare Airlines' operates 3, including 2 Il-76MD and 1 Il-76TD.

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★ 'Yuzmashavia' operates 2 Il-76TD.

★ ''

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★ 'Gulf Aviation Technology and Services' operates a number of Il-76 aircraft on charter or lease.

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★ 'Phoenix Aviation' operates 2 Il-76TD.

★ ''

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★ 'Avialeasing' operates the Il-76 on a charter and lease basis.

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★ 'Uzbekistan Airways' operates 14 Il-76TD.

★ ''

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★ The 'Yemen Air Force' operates 3 Il-76 aircraft.

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★ 'Yemenia' operates 2 Il-76TD.

★ ''

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★ 'Avient Aviation' operates 1 Il-76.

Incidents and accidents

★ On November 12 1996, Kazakhstan Airlines Flight 1907, an Il-76, had a mid-air collision over India with a Boeing 747, resulting in the loss of all 349 lives aboard both aircraft.

★ On November 11 2005, A Royal Airlines Cargo Il-76MD, s/n 0053464926, flew into the side of a hill 30 km NW of Kabul, Afghanistan.

★ On June 3 2006, A Chinese AWACS KJ-2000 or KJ-200 based on the Il-76 crashed in Anhui; about 40 personnel were lost, most of them radio experts.

★ On March 9 2007, a Transaviaexport Il-76TD s/n 1003499991, registered EW-78826, on approach at Mogadishu, Somalia, was hit by a projectile, which was later confirmed to be a RPG by Belarus officials. The aircraft landed safely but sustained substantial damage.

★ On March 23 2007, a Transaviaexport Il-76 was shot down by an anti-aircraft missile while taking off from Mogadishu, Somalia.^[20]

Specifications (Il-76D)

References

External links

★ Cargo Plane Is Shot Down in Somalia

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