COMAC's electric aircraft completes first piloted test flight

Saturday's flight followed the aircraft's first unmanned autonomous test flight on Feb 2. COMAC said the CE-25A completed 19 unmanned autonomous flight tests during its development.

The aircraft is being jointly developed by COMAC, Chinese battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and other domestic partners.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China has accepted the application for a type certificate for the CE-25A, according to COMAC.

The aircraft is being developed in accordance with China’s CCAR-25 airworthiness regulations for transport-category aircraft, which also apply to large commercial passenger aircraft.

The acceptance of the application marks a step in the aircraft’s certification process, which must be completed before it can enter commercial service.