Antonov An-38

The Antonov An-38 is a stretched and upgraded version of the earlier An-28, a twin-engined turboprop transport aircraft designed by the Antonov Design Bureau in Kyiv, Ukraine. A 1989 sales tour in India showed a market for an aircraft like the An-28 with 25 to 30 seats, and the design was approved a year later. It keeps the An-28 wings and tail but has a longer fuselage, higher fuel efficiency, a quieter and more comfortable cabin, up to 27 passengers and a maximum payload of 2,500 kilograms, and low-pressure tyres and weather radar for unpaved and icy airfields. Production is in Novosibirsk, Russia, with some crucial parts made in Ukraine and Belarus. The An-38 first flew in 1994 and gained international certification in April 2000; only 11 were built and two remained in airline service in 2019.