DUSHANBE, September 4, 2012, Asia-Plus  -- On Monday September 3, Tajik national air carrier, Tajik Air, donated Soviet-era aircraft Yakovlev-40, which had outlived its service life, to Tajik Technical University.

The Tajik Air press center reports the aircraft will serve as visual aid for students from the Civil Aviation Faculty.

The aircraft had reportedly been in use for more than 20 years; it had been used t operate flights from Dushanbe to Khujand and Khorog in Tajikistan, as well as Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) and Almaty (Kazakhstan).  In the recent years, it had been used to operate practice flights.

Tajik Air also handed over engines and parts of Tupolev-154 and Yakovlev-40, as well as Mi-8 (helicopter) to Tajik Technical University, the source said.