The title of the world's largest cargo plane belongs to the Antonov An-225 Mriya.Here's why: * Size and Weight: The An-225 had the largest maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of any aircraft ever built, at 640 tonnes (705 short tons). It also possessed the largest wingspan of any operational aircraft, measuring 88.4 meters (290 ft). Its total length was 84 meters (275 ft 7 in). * Cargo Capacity: The An-225 could carry an immense payload, with a maximum capacity of 250,000 kg (551,156 lbs) inside its cargo hold. The cargo hold itself was impressively sized, with a length of 43.35 meters (142.2 ft), a width of 6.4 meters (21 ft), and a height of 4.4 meters (14.4 ft), offering a total volume of 1,100 cubic meters (38,846 cubic feet). It could also carry very heavy single items, up to 200 tonnes. * Unique Design: The An-225 was powered by six turbofan engines, making it the only cargo plane with that many engines. It was originally designed to transport the Soviet Buran space shuttle and components of the Energiya rocket.Important Note: Sadly, the only operational An-225 Mriya was destroyed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. While there have been discussions about potentially rebuilding it, there is currently no other aircraft that matches its size and cargo capacity.For comparison, a very large and modern cargo aircraft still in production is the Boeing 747-8F. It has a maximum payload capacity of around 134 to 140 tonnes (295,000 to 308,000 lbs) and a main cargo deck volume of about 692.7 cubic meters (24,462 cubic feet). While substantial, it is still significantly smaller in both size and capacity compared to the Antonov An-225 Mriya.