---
title: "Meanwhile, in Russia: Plane Loses Cargo Door, Scatters 3.4 Tons of Gold and Silver in Siberia"
description: "Today's weather: A mix of sun and clouds, with a chance of giant chunks of precious metals."
date: "2018-03-16"
modified: "2018-03-16"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/19324/meanwhile-in-russia-plane-loses-cargo-door-scatters-3-4-tons-of-gold-and-silver-in-siberia"
categories:
  - "News"
tags:
  - "Accident"
  - "Antonov"
  - "Aviation"
  - "Cargo"
  - "Gold"
  - "Planes"
  - "russia"
  - "Silver"
---

# Meanwhile, in Russia: Plane Loses Cargo Door, Scatters 3.4 Tons of Gold and Silver in Siberia

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/03/russian-plane.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

A Russian plane carrying hundreds of millions of dollars in gold and silver bars inadvertently shared the wealth on Thursday when its cargo door broke open upon takeoff, scattering 3.4 tons of the precious metals across the runway and surrounding area, [*The Guardian* reports.](<https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/16/gold-silver-ingots-runway-falling-cargo-plane-russia>)

According to investigators, the cargo door of the old [Antonov](<https://www.twz.com/5083/why-china-wants-to-put-the-gargantuan-antonov-an-225-mriya-back-into-production>) An-12 turboprop failed when the improperly-secured payload shifted during takeoff at an airport in the [Siberian](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/18162/russian-man-makes-a-driveable-mercedes-benz-g-wagen-out-of-ice-in-siberia>) city of Yakutsk and wound up pressing against the hatch. As the plane gained altitude, the door sprang open and released the treasure—the news of which spread on social media and prompted people to start combing nearby fields in search of loot.

Authorities [told *The Guardian*](<https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/16/gold-silver-ingots-runway-falling-cargo-plane-russia>) that the doré bars—a gold and silver alloy used to transport the valuable metals from a mine to a refinery for processing—mainly landed on the runway, and that airport officials had recovered all of the fallen cargo, which was estimated to be worth at least $150 million. Videos posted by locals tell a different story, though, with at least one bar being plucked out of a roadside snowbank near the airport.

https://twitter.com/_/status/974703180679405568

Photos from the scene show small bags scattered around the runway like presents just waiting to be opened. A close-up of the missing cargo hatch shows the door took some of the plane's surrounding skin with it when it departed, but the An-12 was able to land safely. We're wondering if the pilot wanted to just fly off into the taiga and disappear at that point, though.

https://twitter.com/_/status/974309704590610432

The gold reportedly came from the Kupol mine in the distant Chukotka Autonomous Region at the very eastern edge of Russia. It's run by Canadian company Kinross Gold, which might think twice about flying its spoils on 45-year-old Soviet cargo planes from now on.

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/kylecheromcha.bsky.social>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-cheromcha-1550248a/>)