Antonov An-2

YR-BME Antonov An-24RV c/n 57310310 of TAROM, at Groningen Airport in Holland on July 10, 1997

The Antonov An-24RV is a twin-engine transport aircraft for up to 5 crew and 50 passengers. The development of the An-24 (NATO reporting name 'Coke') started in 1957 as a replacement of the ageing LI-2 and Il-14's. The first of two prototypes flew on October 20th 1959. Deliveries of the An-24V started in 1962. The big difference of the An-24RV versus the An-24V is a small turbojet in the right engine nacelle to boost takeoff performance. Over 1460 An-24 variants were built in Kiev, Irkutsk and Ulan Ude in the former USSR/Ukraine. An An-24 variant entered production in China as the Xian Y-7.

TARS - Transporturi Aeriene Romana Sovietica was founded in 1945 by the Governments of Romania and Russia, ownership being divided equally between the two countries to operate domestic and regional services with a fleet of Lisunov Li-2's. In 1954 the ownership of TARS passed entirely to the Romanian Government and on September 18th 1954 TAROM - Transporturile Aeriene Române made a start as a new company. Since international services expanded and the growing fleet of TAROM was modernised several times. Today TAROM S.A. is Romania's national airline, a commercial society with state-owned and private capital, providing air transportation on domestic and international routes, on both regular and charter flights. The Antonov An-24RV YR-BME came in at Groningen Airport Eelde in the Netherlands on July 10th 1997 with a Rumanian football team.