Antonov An-225 'Mriya' (UR-82060) Arrives at IAH

The Antonov An-225 "Mriya" lands on runway 08L at Houston's George H. W. Bush Intercontinental Airport on May 19, 2013. Built in the late 1980s to carry the Soviet space shuttle Buran, the An-225 (registration UR-82060) is the world's largest operational aircraft. Filmed by Nathan Moeller of Astro95 Media.

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[StinkyTeal]

RIP 225. I saw her at IAH before, f-ing giant.

[sharplydressedrabbit]

RIP 225, a beast of human engineering

[JakesAviation]

WOW!! SUPER HUGE LIKE FOR SUPER BIG PLANE!!!! :D

[samanthabenedict]

I will miss hearing her come over our house in Houston.

[RickFL]

ahhh jeez nice contrasting shot between the AN-225 and the 747!

[MegaChallanger]

i saw its younger brother (an-124) in Portland oregon. but with my recent trip to new york. i saw the a380.

[TheSummerOfGeorge]

what a beautiful touchdown, flawless landing

[AstroMedia]

Pretty huge surprise, too. Got the An-124 yesterday, and as soon as that one had left, I got an e-mail notification saying that the An-225 would be here today.

[AstroMedia]

This is the first time it's visited in 2013, but the last time was November 2012.

[AstroMedia]

It's not a regularly-scheduled flight. Not sure what they were doing here (probably picking up/delivering oil processing equipment), but I have a FlightAware account that emails me whenever the An-225 files a flight plan. I had about 18 hours notice that they were coming. Very neat, though!

[AstroMedia]

This was as close as I could get. When planes land west-to-east at IAH, the heavies typically land on 08L, which is about one mile from the terminal. Planes had been landing east-to-west shortly before I got to the airport, which would have likely put them on a runway closer to the terminal, but the winds shifted before I arrived. Disappointing, but I was happy to get the plane at all. Looks like I was the only one to do so that day, too.

[AstroMedia]

Thanks! It was disappointing that they turned the airport around shortly before they arrived. They landed on the runway farthest from the terminal (08L) so the video isn't as good as it would have been otherwise, but glad I got them nonetheless!

[AstroMedia]

Thanks! That was a nice bonus for the morning. Tail for the 747 is N263SG (Atlas Air).

[AstroMedia]

FRA is the airport code for Frankfurt.

[AstroMedia]

The greatest part about it was the fact that it's one of a kind. I'm very thankful to live in a place where so many neat aircraft visit!

[seanreisk]

The video doesn't show the planes majesty, but did you notice how smoothly the pilot landed that monster? Lock up your daughters!

[AstroMedia]

Usually once or twice a month, on average. But this warranted a dual visit!

[LostTXN]

Its maiden flight into Houston was when exactly? I have pictures and was lucky enough to board it. I can't remember the date, but it was before the gold and blue paint job. Would be happy for you to see my pictures.

[AstroMedia]

I have a free account, so the only limitation is the number of alerts you can set up at once (I believe it's five), but you can edit them as you see fit. I filmed this aircraft from the Terminal D Garage roof on the east side of the airport. Parking is about $4/hr so well worth it for this.

I was disappointed that they landed on the far runway (08L), as it's much more difficult to steadily track an aircraft at that distance. Terminal D is about 1.5 miles from that landing strip.

[AstroMedia]

Funny thing is - I got the email notification that he'd be here just as soon as the An-124 was off the ground the previous day.