The Il-76 transport aircraft, created back in Soviet times, still remains one of the most reliable heavy aircraft in its class. This opinion was expressed by test pilot Georges Shishkin, who spent about 20 years at the controls of the Il-76 and participated in unique polar operations.
During his career, Shishkin flew over 20 thousand hours on various types of aircraft. On the Il-76, he provided an air bridge between Moscow and the South Pole, and in 1983, he led an unprecedented operation to rescue winterers from the SP-25 station.
At that time, cargo was parachuted onto a rapidly disintegrating ice floe in polar night conditions from an extremely low altitude — only 50–70 meters.
I can say with confidence: to this day, new machines of this class cannot be created. Failures? What aircraft does without them? But the powerful, planned by the creators of the machine, redundancy of all systems allows to successfully cope with the situation.
According to the test pilot, most abnormal situations are not related to the aircraft's design, but to the human factor. That is why the Il-76 has earned a reputation as an exceptionally reliable machine.