strangest freight

[11Fan]

42ongo,

Depends how you want to classify “freight”.

Back in 1996, a Delta Air Lines Passenger MD-11 carried the Olympic Torch from Athens Greece to Los Angeles (in this ship) for the start of the cross-country relay. It took us two weeks to paint this aircraft.


http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=0595433&size=L&width=1024&height=695&sok=JURER% 20%20%28ert%20%3D%20%27A812QR%27%29%20%20BEQRE%20OL%20cubgb_ vq%20QRFP&photo_nr=3

How you may ask?

Text blatantly stolen from:

http://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/1996/06/12/6779/Home+run.html

In April, the Centennial Spirit's historic 14h flight from Athens to Los Angeles carried the Olympic Flame in a safety lantern mounted in the main cabin. At some 11,270km (6,100nm), it was the longest distance ever travelled by the Flame in an aircraft. Special approvals had to be obtained from the US Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration to transport a flame aboard the aircraft. The safety lantern consisted of a self-contained unit, sealed and leak-proof, encased in a fluted, decorative, container. For its journey, it was secured to an interior wall by aluminium brackets designed by Delta mechanics and was monitored continuously by an ACOG representative. Once in Los Angeles, the Flame's overland relay across the USA was begun, with Delta professionals among the 10,000 torchbearers. It will arrive in Atlanta on 19 July.

11Fan