In a surprise statement, manufacturer Irkut Corporation and its state-controlled parent company United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) said an MS-21-300 model had successfully completed a 30-minute flight at a height of 1,000 metres and travelling at 300 km an hour. The test flight, which was not announced to the media beforehand, comes just three weeks after China staged the maiden flight of its new C919 passenger jet, highlighting the growing competition to industry heavyweights Boeing and Airbus. Irkut Corp.president Oleg Demchenko described the first flight as an “historic day” for the team behind the aircraft, which was rolled out almost exactly a year ago.
The Russian Irkut MC-21 airliner makes its maiden flight.