European Pilots Conclude C919 Flight Tests, Certification Timeline Unclear

European pilots have found “no major hardware risks” with the Chinese-made C919 passenger jet during a months-long flight testing process in China, which is now beginning to wrap up, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter.

The news indicates that the C919 has taken a step closer to winning a crucial endorsement from European safety regulators, but the sources cautioned that the completion of in-flight testing did not mean that certification was imminent.

The “test drive” by European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) pilots has been highly rigorous, with specialised crews pushing the single-aisle C919 “to extremes” to validate its safety, the sources said.

These flights included manoeuvres like deliberate spins and stalls to test the jet’s structural integrity and gather data that can be checked against established certification specifications.

The C919 – produced by the state-run Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) – is a narrowbody passenger jet that Beijing aims to promote as an alternative to the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 on the global market.

The aircraft has already been in service domestically in China for three years, with Comac delivering 37 of the jets to Chinese carriers to date. But certification from Western regulators is likely to be vital for the jet to compete internationally.

The South China Morning Post reported in January that EASA test pilots had begun flying the C919 in Shanghai. Flight tests are part of the third step of the EASA’s four-step certification process.