What people saw on that night was not aircraft, heavy or light flying in close formation.
A first class international airport handles and services even heavy aircraft.
A new crane would also have been necessary to handle the heavier aircraft as well.
However, Soviet engines at the time lacked the power needed to provide the heavy aircraft with good performance.
It was not designed for heavy aircraft or for long term use.
This accident led to new rules for minimum following separation time from "heavy" aircraft.
Weighing in at 1.4 million pounds, it is also the heaviest aircraft to be built.
At the time it was by far the heaviest aircraft in the world, and remains large even by today's standards.
I am a retired 747 captain with 18,000 hours in heavy aircraft.
The airport has developed a brand new runway so heavier aircraft can land there.
