World's largest biplane crashes in Austria
August 23, 2019
An Antonov 2 (An-2) aircraft crash landed in the Gmunden-Laakirchen airfield in Upper Austria, Austrian media reported on Friday. No major injuries were reported.
Developed by the Soviet Union after World War II, the An-2 is said to be the largest single-engine biplane in the world with a wingspan of more than 18 meters (59 feet). It was produced up until 2001, and is still used for small sight-seeing flights.
The Guiness Book of World Records listed this for some time as the longest-ever production time for a single type of aircraft before it was beaten by the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, which was first produced in 1954 and is still being made today.
The plane is considered to still be safe to fly.
According to Austrian daily Kronen Zeitung, firefighters arrived shortly after the incident to pump the 1,500 liters of gasoline from the damaged plane. All four people on board were unhurt.
The plane will not be presented in an upcoming airshow as had been planned.
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