United Arab Emirates Bans Flights Of Soviet-Built An-12 Aircraft

United Arab Emirates Bans Flights Of Soviet-Built An-12 Aircraft (NSI News Source Info) ABU-DHABI - January 13, 2008: The state department of civil aviation of the United Arab Emirates has issued a decree banning flights of Soviet-made An-12 cargo aircraft from January 13, the head of the department said on Monday. The document says that the decision was made "in the interests of ensuring the safety of the population and the airspace of the UAE." The Antonov An-12 is a four-engined turboprop transport aircraft. It is the military version of the Antonov An-10. The first prototype flew in March 1957. Over 900 had been built, in both military and civilian versions, before production finally ended in 1973. The An-12BP entered Soviet military service in 1959. In terms of configuration, size and capability, the aircraft is similar to the United States-built Lockheed C-130 Hercules. Military Soviet planes have a defensive tail gun turret. In the 1960s, China purchased several An-12 aircraft from the Soviet Union, along with license to assemble the aircraft locally. However, due to the Sino-Soviet split, the Soviet Union withdrew its technical assistance. It wasn't until 1974, when the first Chinese-assembled An-12 had its maiden flight. The Xi'an Aircraft Company and Xi'an Aircraft Design Institute worked to reverse engineer the An-12 for local production. On January 2, an An-12 plane skid off a landing strip in the country's Sharjah international airport. No one was injured in the incident. The department advised air companies at Sharjah, Dubai and other airports, which currently have some 30 An-12 planes in use, to begin getting rid of this type of aircraft.