GRAHAM WARWICK / WASHINGTON DC
The fourth flight-test Embraer 170 has been damaged during a gear-up landing, but the accident is not expected to delay certification of the 70-seat regional jet, scheduled for November, the Brazilian manufacturer says.
The aircraft suffered "minor damage" to the nacelles and lower aft fuselage during the 17 August wheels-up landing at Embraer's Gaviao Peixoto test centre, and is expected to be repaired and returned to flight "in a couple of weeks", says Embraer.
The gear-up landing was attributed to "operational factors". The aircraft was engaged in handling-qualities evaluations involving take-offs with simultaneous system malfunctions, and had already performed several touch-and-gos when the incident occurred. There are six other Embraer 170s engaged in the flight-test programme, and the manufacturer still expects to gain US certification in November. Deliveries to Alitalia and US Airways will begin immediately thereafter.
In August last year, the third flight-test Embraer 170 was damaged during water-ingestion testing at Gavaio Peixoto when it ran off the flooded runway, causing the main landing gear to collapse. The repaired aircraft rejoined the flight-test programme in late November. Although that incident did not cause further delays to the certification programme, the schedule has suffered a number of slips since the first flight of the prototype in February last year. Approval had originally been due by the beginning of 2003, but after an initial slip to June and then August, it was delayed until November to allow for certification with full Category 2 autopilot capability to be achieved that month.
Source: Flight International
