On February 2, some netizens broke the news that the domestically produced C919 passenger plane purchased by China Eastern Airlines—China Eastern Airlines B919A had a failure of the left engine reverse propulsion failure on that day, so the B919A Beijing Daxing-Hefei MU7819/20 round trip was cancelled, and then returned directly to Shanghai Hongqiao Airport. (webpage Screenshot)
[The Epoch Times, February 07, 2023](Reported by Epoch Times reporter Fang Xiao) China’s first domestically-made large passenger plane C919 suffered an engine failure, and the 100-hour verification flight plan was put on hold immediately. carry.
On February 2, some netizens broke the news that the domestically produced C919 passenger plane purchased by China Eastern Airlines—China Eastern Airlines B919A had a failure of the left engine reverse propulsion failure on that day, so the B919A Beijing Daxing-Hefei MU7819/20 round trip was cancelled, and then returned directly to Shanghai Hongqiao Airport.
Radio Free Asia reported on the 6th that aviation industry insiders broke the news that the aircraft officially started its 100-hour verification flight on February 1. After flying from Shanghai Hongqiao Airport to Beijing Daxing Airport on the morning of the 2nd, the reverse thrust of the left engine failed, and then the aircraft canceled the next verification flight.
The insider said that China Eastern Airlines, which purchased the C919, kept silent on the matter. As for the domestically produced engine CJ-1000A that is said to be assembled on the C919, its basic technical parameters are unknown to the outside world.
People familiar with the matter said that two days ago, it was supposed to fly to Hefei, but it seemed that the left engine had a problem. People in China Eastern Airlines (propaganda department) don’t even mention C919. Because there is no commercial aircraft for this plane at present, it is just something like a transition, theoretically speaking, it can be made public or not. It is estimated that it may not be able to operate commercially by the end of February.
C919 is declared by the CCP as “national pride”. It has been developed for more than ten years, and now it has been mentioned to a very high strategic position, and it is regarded as a backup plan once it is decoupled from Europe and the United States. However, the insider revealed that so far, due to fear of accidents, the aircraft has basically been assembled with various imported components, and the industry is not optimistic about the basic safety of the C919.
People familiar with the matter said that because of the fear of being sanctioned in the event of a conflict with the United States, China needs an alternative. So the C919 aircraft has a backup plan. None of the core components are domestically produced. On the one hand, they are engaged in reverse engineering, and on the other hand, they are imitating. The second and third batches will try to add domestically produced things. Moreover, the commercial operation of C919 was also limited in scope at the beginning.
The insider also revealed that so far, only China Eastern Airlines has taken over the C919, and other airlines have no intention of wading into this muddy water.
The report said that China Eastern Airlines has not responded to interview requests, and the phone of a person surnamed Li in its propaganda department has also been unavailable.
He Guangwei, a former senior investigative reporter, told Free Asia that he would definitely not choose C919.
On December 9, 2022, the C919 passenger plane numbered B-919A set sail from Shanghai Pudong International Airport to Shanghai Hongqiao Airport and was delivered to China Eastern Airlines.
According to the public information of China Eastern Airlines in December last year, after the first C919 aircraft was delivered to China Eastern Airlines on December 9, it started a 100-hour verification flight on December 26. The first verification flight, flight number MU7801, took off from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport at 13:25 on the same day and arrived at Beijing Capital International Airport at 15:17. The 100-hour verification flight will last until mid-February 2023, and the takeoff and landing airports will involve 10 airports in 9 provinces and cities.
On each verification flight day, the C919 aircraft will take off from Shanghai Hongqiao Airport, fly to Beijing Capital, Beijing Daxing, Chengdu Tianfu, Xi’an, Haikou, Qingdao, Wuhan, Nanchang, Jinan and other destinations, and return to Shanghai Hongqiao on the same day Airport. After the C919 completes the route verification flight, the Civil Aviation Administration of China will verify and inspect the verification results, and after confirming that China Eastern Airlines has the ability to safely operate the C919 aircraft, it will issue the corresponding operating permit.
China Eastern Airlines stated that it will strive to officially put the C919 into commercial passenger operation in the spring of 2023.
Reuters has reported that the C919 is facing a shortage of parts due to the tightening of restrictions on the export of high-tech products by the United States.
According to the report, although the C919 is assembled and produced in China, since the aircraft’s avionics system, engine and other important equipment are all produced in Western countries, the supply chain is vulnerable to the United States.
Responsible editor: Lin Congwen#
