Mysterious Plane Identification

[a1]

I need your help to identify a plane I saw fly over my school today. I didn't have a camera with me so i don't have any pics.

Description:

A wide-body jet liner with 4 engines. It makes a really low rumbling sound, a sound I have never heard before from a 747 or that time I saw the A380. I flew past already so I only saw the back end of it. Paint was a dark grey a might be silverish. Quite big.

I don't know but I might have just mistaken it for a 747 or something. I need to know.

It was on the flight departure path of Ontario International (KNOT) or Los Angeles International (KLAX).

[Brett_Henderson]

Military maybe ?   C-5, C-17,  KC-135   ?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-5_Galaxy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-17_Globemaster_III

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KC-135_Stratotanker

[Isak922]

I know A340's are quite large and quad-engine... Could it have been one of those? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A340

A plane like a C-5A, C-17, or KC-135 would be very easy to recognize; especially so for those first two. And I'm fairly sure a1 knows enough about military aircraft to recognize them.

[Brett_Henderson]

The grumbly engine sound and the gray color made me think military.. A340s are relatively quiet, and usually in nice colors...

You're right in that a T-tailed plane would be distinctive, but maybe not from a distance and from that angle...

[a1]

Definitely not an A340. I was thinking of a military plane too. One more thing it was quite wide the fuselage.

[EGNX]

Il-86 / Il-96?

Dunno how common the russian metal is around your neck of the woods, it might explain why you didn't recognise it very well, but these are really the only 4 engine widebodies I could think of remaining...  :)

[Souichiro]

Might e a far fetched guess but An-124?

[Jayhawk Jake]

Probably just a C-5.  From the bottom the fuselage is very wide...could have been a C-17 as well but those are smaller.

[Flying Buckeye]

It wasn't a C-5. C-5's make a high pitched whining noise.

[C]

It wasn't a C-5. C-5's make a high pitched whining noise.

Does that include the re-engined ones?

[flyboy 28]

Might e a far fetched guess but An-124?

That may very well be it. Volga-Dnper has flights scheduled into LAX often with a 124.

[Layne.]

I think it would be either an A340 or AN-124 but never seen a grey 124 Maybe it could be a KC-135 that can be grey but i don't know if mil. planes go out and into LAX,  :-? i guess it's the A340 because there are some grey ones out there somewhere and you might of been lucky enough to see it! and it might of been a 747 with different engines to the one you heard before.

My 2 cents

[an-225]

OK, we have several possibilities here.

Il-96 - mostly grey, Russian flag paint job at the front for military. Medium sized body. HOLY, THE WORLD IS COMING TO AN END sound.

A340 - Qatar airlines is a possibility. Pencil thin body though.

C-5 Galaxy - BIG, GREY, and VERY distinctive engine sound (I assume). Likely. Cruising to KEDW, possibly?

C-17 - Medium, engine sound as any other. I have seen one take off over my school too, the day after my birthday. Easy to recognise, despite "plane" engine sound.

An-124 - EU forces have painted their loaned An-124s grey now? Big, distinctive engine sound (I assume), probably not, despite flights into KLAX (have to move there to see more An-124s).

KC-135 - distinctive engine sound, quite small. Possible flight to KEDW?

747 - lucky duck, you saw a YAL-1 didn't you? Only 747 I know of that is painted grey, unless Qatar have started using 747s. United is a maybe, they are part blue and grey though.

Big + grey + rumbling sound + KEDW nearby, carry the one = C-5 Galaxy.

[a1]

Thanks all for helping.

OK i think I know what it is now. The Il-96 you described seems the closest thing to what I saw. I looked up pictures and what do you know there it is. Most likely guess.