Russian air force delivers aid to the US. But where's the loadmaster?
 

Is this how you're meant to load an Antonov-124?

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....1e159c177c.png

Apparently it's medical aid sent by Putin at Trump's request. That's the story put out by the Russian MOD, and Trump seems to agree. But why would you fill the hold with loose boxes? Where are the cargo nets?

https://ria.ru/20200401/1569423811.html

PR shot before securing the load?

CG

I suppose so. It doesn't look as if they used pallets to load it...maybe they just had a long line of people doing pass the parcel.

Heavylift used to hand load an AN124 full of Epson Printers in Indonesia and offload the same way.

In Russia, unsecured boxes load you, etc....

Looks like cargo nets over the top towards the back of the photo and the way some of the boxes are shrink wrapped it does look like some pallets or uni-tainers are used too.

Come on guys, GET A LIFE!
We are in a global emergency/pandemic and you start to criticize how the cargo is loaded... The most important part is to help people delivering the load!

Now you can start talking about how dangerous this can be with turbulence and so on.... come on! Boxes with card face masks...

Really? There is a lot of it, it will be heavy, and if it did shift in severe turbulence it could lead to loss of control, followed shortly thereafter by loss of the aircraft ... and the crew ... and the supplies. Which would render this portion of the "global emergency/pandemic" effort entirely worthless, wouldn't it?

So come down off your podium and calm down.

Maybe nets and belts came after the picture was shot?
Anyway, the plane has already reached Goose Bay, i.e. the pond was crossed OK.

Stuart please will did entirely NOT BOVVERED

Nope it was an offer to assist made from the President of Russia to the President of the US.

US Embassies were already trying to source items across Europe from other nations (excluding Russia). An offer of assistance was made and accepted.

No different from the help US Presidents have offered to many nations who have needed help in various disasters, Russians saw they could help and offered it.

Just like in Italy where Russian and China have put people on the ground with tons of assisatnce but Atlantic Council idiots have tried to plant Fake News stories about the equipment and people
not being fit for purpose. The fake news got quickly shot down by Italian Ambassador to Russia, President of region of Lombardy and medical teams using it.

I once offloaded an IL76 at a large UK airbase that had vehicles and other heavy items bulk-loaded to the point that the only restraint was the proximity of the items to each other and to the side-walls and ceiling of the aircraft. We didn't realise there were 4x4's in the load until we found them buried under other freight!

So this doesn't surprise me at all.

The fact that we are in a global emergency is no excuse not to load the aircraft and restrain the load correctly.

Or maybe, to the guy telling us to "get a life" you'd take the risk of that 124 departing controlled flight due to a load shift and coming down on a city centre?

Appreciate the load is very different, but cases like this sadly always bring to my mind the the awful Bagram 747 accident that is too dreadful to watch.

Nobody except golfbananajam use the Mk 1 eyeball here ? The load in the background is clearly secured by nets, presumably the foregoround is stil being loaded.

Dealt with many AN124 crews over the years and every single one of them have been thoroughly professional. These boys do this day in day out, doubt they'd take such glaringly obvious risks.

Picture probably taken before the nets were secured

First word of the text under the video is "Aeroflot". Logo on the tail tends to point to a civil operator. Loads like that were normally forked on with the boxes on what we used to call "NATO pallets." much quicker than hand-balling, Nicky. though I do remember a few times hand loading 120 tonnes of cigarettes (in boxes!) ex-Richmond to Tblisi on 124s of ADB. Nets and straps and away you go. With a Loadmaster. Swing the lantern. I forget where in Europe to Montreal, a load of fibre-optic cables. With spare weight and space, the charterer naughtily:=, for various reasons, also loaded large cardboard cartons of freeze dried strawberries for Kellogs which were in hermetically sealed bags.:uhoh: Thing to remember, the 124 flew with the cargo compartment unpressurised. On climb-out we heard "pop....pop.....pop....pop" etc. At our first stop, Gander, we were greeted with a wonderful scent of strawberries. Most of the sealed bags had ruptured, strawberries everywhere! We had strawberries for days.:ooh:
Take care of selfs and each other.
Rgds.,
alt

The An-124 Condor, registration RA-82038, is from the 224th Flight Unit under authority of the Russian Air Force.

https://flyingcarpet75.jimdofree.com...h-flying-unit/

Image link of RA-82038.

https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/9351697

By weight, possibly one of the world’s most valuable cargos. N95 masks @ $12 per unit... for the equivalent of moulded coffee cup!


Mjb

Ok, looked again (viewed as a small pic on phone earlier) and can now see that there are some nets.

Stand by my comments that an urgent/emergency situation is not an excuse to cut corners though.

Meanwhile,
RU203/ABW203 VP-BBY SVO to ORD is on approach and RU301/ABW301 VQ-BRJ SVO to ORD is over Greenland. One might imagine additional supplies.

Sometimes we need to live with whats needed. A lot of equipment needs to be transported right now and strict adherance to procedures is secondary . I flew many freight ops over the years , mostly well restrained with good loadmasters but horse flights with up to 40 animals were unrestrained apart from neck halters so a few bulky lightweight boxes wouldn't concern me.