A massive Russian cargo plane containing a helicopter that will help fight wildfires in Chile took off from Victoria International Airport on Thursday morning.
The 1967-era Ilyushin Il-76 heavy transport aircraft landed on Vancouver Island on Tuesday.
It’s being paid for by the Chilean government to grab an Island helicopter and fly to Chile. The Chilean government needs the chopper to help fight wildfires in that country.
Originally the helicopter was going to make the 13-day journey on its own, but the US government shutdown meant the company couldn’t get sign off to land south of the border.
As a result Child had to hire the 46-metre Russian jet to fly the chopper in one quick trip.
Special visit yesterday when the Russian-built long range heavy-transport aircraft, the Ilyushin Il-76, arrived at #YYJ to pick up a VIH Aviation Group firefighting helicopter and transport it to Chile to assist with wildfire efforts.
— Victoria Int Airport (@Fly_YYJ) January 16, 2019
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.#Russian #l… https://t.co/Hz8MlR62WP pic.twitter.com/tuIxrvDF8Z
For all of the plane spotters, the Ilyushin-76 Russian cargo plane is scheduled to depart Victoria International Airport at 10:00 a.m this morning. #yyj pic.twitter.com/10PvUPst0T
— Victoria Int Airport (@Fly_YYJ) January 17, 2019
