AN12 drops 3.5 tonne of gold on runway
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AN12 drops 3.5 tonne of gold on runway
Latest Flight Accident Alert - 'A Nimbus Airlines Antonov AN12 (RA-11130) was transporting a 9.3 tonne cargo of gold ingots from the remote Kupol gold mine in the Bilibinsky region to Krasnoyarsk via a refueling stop at Yakutsk. It would seem that, on departure from Yakutsk, (on rotation?), part of the cargo weighing 3.5 tonne broke away, burst through the rear cargo doors and fell onto the runway. The crew were able to maintain control and the aircraft climbed away safely. It subsequently landed at the nearby Magan Airport. The accident happened in daylight (1315L).' I bet every vehicle air-side was out there to collect 'souvenirs'.
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Something not right with the sums here. 9.3 tonnes of gold is almost exactly 300,000 troy ounces (worth around US$400 million), which is about six months' production at Kupol. A large remote mine such as this one would normally be sending gold out every week or two.
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I know nothing, but as a layman it seems the load shifted during acceleration and ended up on a non-loadbearing area (the ramp). Interesting, and expensive. Finding the remaining bars under snow cover will be a nice challenge.
They were damned lucky it wasn't worse.
caiman27, this was mixed gold/silver bars... don't know anything about the subject but possibly that might explain it?
caiman27, this was mixed gold/silver bars... don't know anything about the subject but possibly that might explain it?
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"He said the bars were Dore, a semi-pure alloy of silver and gold."
And now for a question: How would such a load be secured? I assume on a pallet, which would then be strapped down onto the cargo deck. But from the picture in the above link, it appears that individual bars broke loose from a pallet. Who is responsible for ensuring that pallets are properly packed before they are delivered to the aircraft?
Anyway, "Follow the yellow brick road". Sorry. Couldn't resist.
