Several videos have captured trucks transporting heavy and massive equipment. Among them, the Volvo FMX Series heavy-duty trucks have been seen taking months to reach their destination with their oversized cargo. These goods are typically too large to be transported by air or rail, or the cost of doing so would be prohibitively expensive. The trucks and trailers are capable of carrying enormous transformers, boilers for power plants, and other industrial machinery. While it’s not uncommon to see large planes transporting trucks and vehicles, a video shows a unique instance where a truck is carrying an airplane. This sight is drawing attention and gathering a crowd as it is not a common occurrence on roads.
Manorama News uploaded a video to their YouTube channel, which shows a truck and trailer transporting an old Airbus A320 aircraft previously owned by Air India. The aircraft is no longer in service and was purchased by a restaurant owner in Hyderabad through an auction. The vehicle was situated in Trivandrum, Kerala and is now being transported to Hyderabad by road. Due to the unusual nature of the cargo, people have started gathering on the sides of the national highway through which the truck is travelling. It’s not every day that you see an airplane being transported on a truck, and this has generated a lot of attention from curious onlookers.
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The decommissioned aircraft is en route to Hyderabad, where it will be repurposed as an airplane-themed restaurant. Similar establishments exist in various parts of the country. However, due to the size of the aircraft, the truck transporting it is moving at a slow pace, taking its time to cover the distance. When the truck crossed a bridge in the Kollam district of Kerala, it caused a traffic jam on the highway. The sight of such a large airplane being transported on a truck was a surprise to those who had gathered on the roadside. Many locals had never seen an airplane up close, let alone one of this size. The spectacle of the airplane being transported by road left them in awe.
When transporting large items like this, there are certain precautions that the team must take. For instance, they cannot operate the truck like a regular vehicle on the road. They must maintain a specific speed, and typically have a crew of between 10-20 people to manage traffic on the road. This is done to ensure that the item arrives at its destination without sustaining any damage. The report does not mention the amount the restaurant owner paid for the aircraft at the auction. However, the wings, tail, and nose of the aircraft were dismantled since transporting the entire plane in one piece was impossible. According to the report, the truck will take around one month to reach its destination.
The airplane fits snugly into the trailer and is secured to prevent it from falling or shifting during the journey. Several logistics companies specialize in transporting large items such as this, and we have seen similar incidents in the past. Last year, we reported on a similar occurrence where a decommissioned Air India plane became stuck under a bridge on the Delhi-Gurugram highway while being transported to another location.
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