Landing in the desert

Every (western) expat living in the UAE will eventually discover a happy place in Umm Al Quwain called Barracuda, and will, from that day forth, make a monthly pelgrimage there. Just next to Barracuda, there is a bit of a strange sight: a massive plane sitting in the middle of the desert (25°34′47.66″N, 55°39′10.40″E). Everyone knows this plane, but no-one knows anything about where it came from, how it got there, much less what it looks like from the inside.

Along comes Arne, always the curious one.

The plane is a Soviet built, 92000 Kg Ilyushin Il-76 TD (Serial number 053403072), built and delivered to the Soviet air force some time around 1982, registered as CCCP-86715. After the Soviet Union fell apart, the Russian air force retained the jet and reregistered it RA-86715. It continued to fly for the Russian air force until the early 90’s, when it was sold to Sharjah-based Air Cess and subsequently reregistered EL-RDT. Air Cess, in turn, sold the plane to AirPass in Swaziland and the plane was reregistered 3D-RTT until they, in turn, sold the plane to Centrafrican Airlines in the Central African Republic who reregistered the plane for the last time; TL-ACN. I am fully aware that all of you couldn’t care less about its previous registration numbers but it’s a substantial part of the little amount of information I was able to find about this aircraft, so let me brag about it, dammit!

The aircraft was sold for scrap to Palma Beach Hotel. The jet was flown to the UAE in 1999 where it landed on a sand strip in Umm Al Quwain. It taxied to its current position, shut down the engines and when looking at it now, it’s hard to believe this was a fully airworthy aircraft just 9 years ago. The plane was subsequently deregistered and over the years stripped of any element worth more than 2 dirhams. The scorching sun and omnipresent sand did the rest. It currently serves as a massive Palma Beach Hotel billboard while people park their cars in the shade of the giant wings. There are some vague plans to convert the plane into a restaurant, but so far, nothing serious has materialized yet.

Armed with a camera and tripod, I pretended not to be trespassing and climbed aboard the old bird.