The Largest Plane in the World Stops Traffic in Australia

[Narrator] When the largest plane on the planet

comes to town, it tends to attract attention.

That's why 20,000 people turned out to see

the Antonov AN-225 landing in Perth, Australia

earlier this week.

Also known as the Myria, the truly jumbo jet

is 275 feet long and 288 feet wide.

It stacks up superlatives.

It's the longest bodied, longest winged,

and heaviest plane in the sky.

Thanks to six engines and heavy landing gear,

with 32 wheels, the 600 ton aircraft

can carry 250 tons of cargo loaded through it's nose.

The Soviet Union designed the plane

to carry its space shuttle on its back.

NASA used modified 747 jumbo jets for the same purpose.

But, the AN-225 is the only one of its kind,

because the Soviet Union collapsed

before it got around to building any more.

So, AN-225 flights are pretty rare these days.

The plane's sometimes used to carry supplies

to areas hit by natural disasters.

It was in Perth to drop off a 117 ton mining generator

the size of a bedroom.

So, you see why it attracts crowds wherever it goes.

It's an engineering marvel, and frankly,

if you don't see it with your own eyes,

it's hard to believe it can fly.