Russian Government Ilyushin Il-96 Flying To Washington

This plane is the most interesting one currently in the air.

Russian government jet flying from St. Petersburg to Washington

A Russian-built Ilyushin Il-96-300 belonging to the Russian government is on its way to Washington. The plane is 13 years old and has the flight numberRSD88 on it.

The plane has avoided European Union airspace based on the flight path so far. It flew north from St. Petersburg, then turned southwest and flew past Sweden and Norway. Due to restrictions, the aircraft has been flying over the open ocean since it flew just south of Iceland.

The reason for this flight isn't officially known, at least not as far as I've been able to tell.

• I’d assume that the Russian government has clearance to operate this flight, given that Russian aircraft are ordinarily banned from United States airspace
• I suppose that means that either there could be some level of diplomatic negotiations going on here, or perhaps Russian government officials in the United States are being evacuated

I'm sure we'll find out more soon, but suffice it to say that this is a unique flight.

The basics of the Ilyushin Il-96

Ilyushin is an aircraft manufacturer that has been making planes since the days of the Soviet Union. The jet can travel up to 11,500 kilometers nonstop, and has four engines.

Only around 30 Il-96-300s were built, and only 15 are still in service.

• Cubana, the national airline of Cuba, is the only airline still operating the Il-96-300
• Russia’s government has a fleet of up to 10 Il-96-300s
• Aeroflot was the launch customer for the plane several years back, but the airline has retired its entire Il-96-300 fleet, as it’s simply not as efficient as many foreign-built aircraft

The plane hasn't been very successful, but I think it's a nice looking plane.

Bottom line

A Russian government plane is on the way to Washington. I'm curious to see what comes of this flight since I think it has special clearance in the United States.

This plane could be interesting for plane spotters in Washington.

What do you think about the Russian government's flight to Washington?

The image is courtesy of Dmitry Terekhov.