The return of the An-28 to longer operation is a consequence of the lack of a ready replacement for small regional aviation, believes Sergey Detenyshev, Chairman of the Board of the Association of Small Aviation Enterprises. In his assessment, the decision to extend the service life of the Soviet aircraft from 40 to 50 years shows how difficult the situation with updating the fleet of local airlines has become.
The reason for this conclusion was the certification work ordered by GosNII GA, costing over 6 million rubles. They are intended to extend the service life of the An-28 by another ten years.
According to Detenyshev, the search for applications for the An-28 began amidst problems with the "Baikal" program: the aircraft manufacturer found itself in a difficult financial situation, and the aircraft itself never became a mass replacement for outdated equipment. Simultaneously, another promising aircraft for regional transportation — TVRS-44 "Ladoga" — in its civilian version has been suspended and is to be reformatted for the tasks of the Ministry of Defense.
Extending the service life of this machine, in my opinion, means admitting: let's fly these planes until they start falling apart in the air.
At the same time, Detenyshev does not deny the practical advantages of the An-28 over the "Baikal": the Soviet aircraft carries up to 18 passengers against nine for the new machine and has two engines. But, in his opinion, these advantages do not negate the main problem — instead of creating a full-fledged replacement, Russian regional aviation is again forced to rely on equipment developed back in the USSR.
The expert separately points out the technical risks of this decision. The design documentation for the An-28 is located outside Russia, so without it, in his estimation, it is difficult to fully determine the remaining structural life. Over decades of operation, fatigue damage to the duralumin airframe, cracks, and aging wiring can create an additional problem.