China Focuses on Domestically Developed Passenger Aircraft After Boeing 737 Crash

China Becomes 4th Country to Develop Large Aircraft... Large Passenger Plane 'C919' to Be Delivered This Year
Ironically, First Customer of C919, Similar to Boeing 737, Is China Eastern Airlines

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] Amid the recovery of part of the black box (cockpit voice recorder) from the Boeing 737-800NG passenger plane (MU 5735) belonging to China Eastern Airlines that crashed on the 21st, interest in domestically developed passenger aircraft is rising within China.

Photo by Global Times Capture

Chinese media such as Pengpai reported on the 24th that the test flights of the domestically developed passenger aircraft 'C919' are nearly complete and certification is imminent, with deliveries possibly starting as early as this year.

In fact, He Dongfeng, General Manager of COMAC, hinted at the delivery of the C919 this year during a group executive meeting held last month, stating, "This year, China's large aircraft industry will enter the commercialization stage."

The C919, developed by the state-owned Chinese aircraft manufacturer COMAC, began production in 2015 and successfully completed its first test flight in August 2019. In January last year, it completed cryogenic test flights. At that time, Chinese media reported that the aircraft safely passed airworthiness tests designed to meet extreme cold conditions.

Chinese media explained that the 'C' in C919 stands for China, the number '9' symbolizes eternity, and the number '19' implies the maximum passenger capacity.

The actual seating capacity of this aircraft is known to be between 158 and 168 seats, with a maximum range of 5,555 km. Its top speed is 963 km/h. Based on specifications alone, the C919 is similar in size to the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 series.

Currently, the aircraft has received a total of 815 orders from 28 customers (airlines). China Eastern Airlines, which experienced the recent crash, was also the first official customer to sign a contract for the C919 (with an order of 5 units).

Chinese media forecast that once the C919 aircraft is officially delivered to customers, China will become the fourth country in the world capable of manufacturing large aircraft, and it will become a new competitor in the global large aircraft market currently dominated by Boeing and Airbus. Chinese media emphasized that the C919 is independently developed by China and holds intellectual property rights in accordance with international civil aviation regulations.

Photo by Pengpai Capture

Chinese media also introduced the dark history of China's large aircraft development. China's first large aircraft development plan dates back to 1970. At that time, China initiated the Y-10 large aircraft project but abandoned the dream of developing large aircraft in 1986 due to technical and financial difficulties.

As China's economy grew, the large aircraft development project restarted in 2006. COMAC was established in 2008 to develop large aircraft, and immediately began development of the C919. Chinese media reported that the aircraft, assembled in 2015, successfully completed its first test flight in August 2019.

Quoting COMAC data, Chinese media explained that China's aircraft demand will exceed 9,950 units by 2040, accounting for 22% of the world's passenger aircraft. They added that demand for passenger aircraft with more than 50 seats alone will reach 9,000 units, amounting to $1.4 trillion (approximately 1,774 trillion KRW).

Meanwhile, Chinese media reported that despite the Boeing 737 model involved in the China Eastern Airlines crash being the best-selling aircraft worldwide, Boeing is facing financial difficulties due to frequent accidents. Especially after the failure of the 737 MAX, Boeing's image as a passenger aircraft manufacturer has significantly declined due to layoffs and asset sales.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.