On March 7th, 1975, the first airliner built in the Soviet Union powered by high-bypass turbofan engines took to the skies. Designed to replace the aged Tupolev Tu-134, Yakovlev's Yak-42 is a short to medium-range trijet with several variants, ranging from 120-seat passenger models to business charter versions. Yakovlev produced over 185 models between 1979 and 2003, most of which were Yak-42D long-range variants.

Current Yak-42 aircraft in service

Aeroflot was the first airline to operate the Yak-42, with service beginning in 1980. According to ch-aviation, Russia's flag carrier flew 14 of the aircraft, though they have all since been retired. Today, between nine airlines, there are a total of 17 Yak-42s still in service, though you'll need to be in Russia or Kazakhstan to spot one in the air:

• (3) Izhavia, a domestic airline based out of Izhevsk Airport, has three active Yak-42s in their fleet, along with two Boeing 737-800s
• (2) Jet Express Airlines, a VIP charter airline based in Kazan, operates two of the aircraft that make up its entire fleet
• (2) Kosmos Airlines, specializing in cargo deliveries, has two in their fleet, although one is wet-leased, operating for Roscosmos
• (4) KrasAvia, the largest Yak-42 operator today, has four in their fleet of ten aircraft that also include ATR42s and ATR72s
• (1) Rosgvardia, the National Guard of Russia, acquired one of the aircraft from the Russian Air Force, registration RF-44710, which previously flew for Aeroflot among various carriers
• (1) RusJet, another VIP charter carrier with its central hub in Moscow, operates a Yak-42 alongside some Embraer, Airbus, and Sukhoi business jets
• (2) Two are flown by Kaz Air Jet, a business charter airline
• (1) Kazakhstan's Air Force uses one, registration UP-42721, acquired from Air Kazakhstan after the carrier went bankrupt.

A unique Yak-42 still in operation

Finally, one last active Yak-42, registration RA-42440, flies for SibNIA - Chaplygin Siberian Scientific Research Institute Of Aviation. The organization is based in Novosibirsk, the most populous city in Siberia, and operates a small fleet, including one Tupolev Tu-134AK, two Tu-134A-3Ms, and a single Yak-42.

However, unlike all the other passenger, business, and transport variants of the Yak-42 active with other carriers, RA-42440 was converted into a flying laboratory with Russia's Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring. The technical aircraft facilitates geophysical and ecological data collection and the monitoring of radiation, land and air pollution levels, and cosmic rays.

Non-active Yak-42s

A list on ch-aviation shows 143 Yak-42 aircraft between active, crashed, derelict, those in maintenance, on display, scrapped, and stored. Five of the 41 stored aircraft belong to Izhavia, and KrasAvia owns two. The one Yak-42 in maintenance is also listed under KrasAvia, bringing the airline's total number of the type to seven. In contrast, Izhavia's five stored airliners bring their total to eight, making them the most prominent owner though not the largest operator.

There are three listed crashes, though only two have known registration numbers. Simple Flying has published two articles on tragic accidents involving the Yak-42, Aerosvit Airlines Flight 241 from Kyiv, Ukraine, to Thessaloniki, Greece, and YAK-Service Flight 9633, in which some of Russia's top ice hockey players unfortunately perished.

Have you ever spotted or flown on the Yak-42? Let us know what your experience was like in the comments below!

Sources: ch-aviation, Soviet-Era Airliners