China’s 5,500 km-range C919 passenger plane fails verification flight!

There is news of verification failure of China’s C919 passenger plane. The C919 is a new addition to China’s aircraft, developed by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC). The aircraft made its first successful flight in 2017. After that, it obtained a certificate to fly from the China Aviation Authority in September 2022.
Testing of C919 had been going on since 2017. After obtaining the certificate in September 2022, it needed two more certificates, after which it would have been ready to fly commercial flights, but the aircraft is now reported to have failed verification. The C919 went through a variety of tests to enter fully commercial airspace, including tests conducted in conditions such as high temperature, high humidity, very cold, storm. Even for this, the country had received around 900 orders. But the plane was also supposed to pass a 100-hour verification test, which it failed, according to Pandeli’s report.

The report says that the C919 was scheduled to fly from Shanghai to Beijing on February 1 for a 100-hour verification test and then to Hefei. But the plane was unable to reach Hefei on schedule and returned to Shanghai halfway due to a problem with its left side. But even after failing the flight test on February 1, it made a successful flight to Urumqi International Airport on February 4. This was the aircraft’s first long-haul demonstration flight to test cabin comfort.

The C919 is said to be the first narrow-body airliner China has ever produced. It meets international standards and is designed to compete with aircraft such as the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320. The C919 has been assigned seats from 158 to 192 and its range has been said to be 4,075 km to 5,555 km. The plane has been sold to China Eastern Airlines and its flights are said to be operational by the end of the first quarter or the beginning of the second quarter of the year.