China’s New Jet Completes First Flight as Xi Modernizes Economy
- Test termed success for single-aisle C919 built by Comac
- Plane is central to Xi’s dream of advancing Chinese industry
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China successfully completed the first test flight of its home-built modern passenger jet, bolstering President Xi Jinping’s ambition of turning China into an advanced economy.
Amid cheers from onlookers, the C919 airliner took off Friday from Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, the home base of its builder Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China Ltd., or Comac. The jet landed back about an hour and 19 minutes later after cruising at 3,000 meters (9,840 feet). The single-aisle plane, which is designed to seat as many as 174 people, is slated to enter commercial service with China Eastern Airlines Corp. in 2019.