ONE of the largest planes to ever land in Mount Isa drew a crowd when it delivered a vital piece of equipment for Incitec Pivot’s acid plant yesterday.
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The almost 50 metre Russian Ilyushin I1-76 landed on the tarmac just after 7.30am yesterday, with a crowd of onlookers awaiting its arrival.
Pilot Andrew Erstropov said although the plane was large and his cargo heavy, the airport handled the load well.
“The condition of the runway was good and the weather was clear, there were no problems,” he said.
Incitec Pivot has been in need of the part since a waste heat boiler failure at the acid plant two weeks ago forced the site to shut down.
The needed equipment was flown from Europe with an Incitec Pivot spokesperson saying the projected shut down period of one month is still accurate.
Mount Isa residents flocked to the airport for the landing, parking at the abandoned Kalkadoon rodeo grounds to snap photos of the massive Ilyushin I1-76 cargo plane.
