An Air Koryo Tu-154B-2 parked on the ramp at FNJ – Photo: Bernie Leighton | AirlineReporter
I have a strange and obsessive love for the Tupolev Tu-154. How obsessive, you ask? Well, take a look at my model cabinet. That’s right. I own every possible Tu-154 model out there. I even have a few custom ones on order.
No one can say I don’t love the Tu-154 – Photo: Bernie Leighton | AirlineReporter
I seek out 154s to fly on; I have three lined up this year.
So, what makes this plane so awesome? Well, I was going to do an article last year about what it was like to fly on an 154M, but then Jacob flew on a better M on almost the same day. So we’ll have to wait for the 154Bs later this year (the older, rarer version of the 154).
Until then, let’s discuss the history of this aircraft.
First off, I want to point out that this is not my video. This was originally posted in three parts and there was a lot of down time in the video, so I wanted to consolidate it into one clean video since it is pretty powerful.
The video shows a Tupolov Tu-154B-2 (RA-85563) that was stored for about ten years being re-activated and having some obvious flight control issues. There are a few times it looks like the aircraft might be going down after disappearing behind trees, but amazingly the pilots were able to keep enough control to land the TU-154 successfully.
The flight happened on April 29th at Chkalovsky Airport outside Moscow. According to Gazeta.pl, the aircraft is owned by the 800th Air Base Defense Ministry. It appears there was a malfunction with the stabilizers, but the incident is still under investigation by Russian officials.
