China’s Amphibious Aircraft Clears Technical Quality Assessment for Its Maiden Flight

Chinese home-grown amphibious aircraft, AG600 has cleared the official technical quality assessment for its maiden flight.

Designed to be the world's largest amphibious aircraft, the 37-meter-long AG600 has a wingspan of 38.8 meters and a maximum take-off weight of 53.5 tonnes, Xinhua reported quoting Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) on Tuesday.

AVIC said the technical evaluation was held in Zhuhai City in south China's Guangdong Province.

The amphibious aircraft can be used for maritime rescue, fighting forest fires, marine environment monitoring and protection. It can collect 12 tonnes of water in 20 seconds and transport up to 370 tonnes of water on a single tank of fuel.

Experts agreed that the plane is ready for flight. The aircraft developer said earlier this year that it has received orders for 17 AG600s.