So, there’s this new Kyrgyz airline called Galaxy Air; started by people from TAPOAvia in 2006. It’s been on the EU blacklist since March, 2007, and it ain’t coming off any time soon. On the 29th of August, its Ilyushin-18 EX-786 was seized by the Pakistani authorities in Islamabad. Why? Well, the 142 passengers, of whom 20 were standing in the aisle, had something to do with it. (Its nominal capacity is more like 100.) The fact one of the pilots passed out with hypoxia had something to do with it to.
I can’t find a serial number for EX-786, but the other three aircraft at Galaxy are interesting. EX-601, Il-18 number 185008601, is ex-Santa Cruz Imperial and Phoenix Aviation. The other Il-18, ER-ICB, has been around the block a few times too, but nowhere so notorious. There’s also a Bangladesh-registry 707…