Landing scare grounds homemade planes

A passenger was in tears as she greeted relatives after disembarking from the MA-60 aircraft. WANG YANG / FOR CHINA DAILY

'False alarm'

In its statement, issued on Wednesday night, Xi'an Aircraft Industry said it had sent a team of engineers to Shenyang to cooperate with the airline in an investigation. Experts have also been dispatched to check all MA60's in use with foreign carriers.

"The initial findings indicate that a malfunction in the landing gear's signaling system caused a false alarm," said the statement, which added that the company had asked China's civil aviation authorities to ground "some of the aircraft" for safety checks.

He Shengqiang, general manager of Xi'an Aircraft Industry, said the MA-60 series has given satisfactory performance during its period of service with domestic and overseas airlines.

"The feedback from our clients toward the aircraft is fairly good. They are well maintained and serve carriers from 16 countries, including Laos, Cambodia and several African nations," he said. "We are confident in their performance and future."

Despite the series of incidents, some pilots said they still have confidence in the aircraft.

"As long as the aircraft has the correct certification from the authorities, I would be happy to fly it," said one Beijing-based pilot, who declined to be named.

Aviation experts were also quick to play down any doubts about the quality of the MA-60.

The certificate of airworthiness, which the MA-60 has been awarded by China's civil aviation authority, means that the aircraft is safe to fly, according to Wang Qiming, an expert on passenger aircraft and a consultant to the Aviation Industry Corporation of China's committee on science and technology.

"As far as I know, the Xi'an company has a complete system, which covers before-delivery flight testing and in-house supervision by buyers, to guarantee the quality of its aircraft," he said. "So it's too early to make a conclusion on whether the incident is a reflection on the aircraft's quality."

Wang said that investigations into aircraft malfunctions are usually complicated and time-consuming.

Every new-type aircraft will have a relatively higher failure rate during the initial stages of its operations in the market. That even applies to major manufacturers such as Boeing and Airbus, according to Wang.

He said Chinese aircraft manufacturers still have a long way to go, because their experience and ability to deal with setbacks are poor compared with their US and European counterparts.

One industry insider said the incidents involving the MA-60s may act as a catalyst and encourage Chinese civil aircraft builders to attach even greater attention to safety issues.

"These incidents have reminded us once again that safety is the first priority when manufacturing passenger aircraft," said a manager at the Airworthiness Certification Center of the civil aircraft manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corp of China, also known as COMAC.

Meanwhile, to ensure the full safety of its products, Shanghai-based COMAC has spent more time on its aircraft under development than originally scheduled, said the manager, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The ARJ21, a regional airplane made by the company, made its maiden flight in 2008, but will not be delivered to buyers until the end of this year.

The aircraft started the airworthiness certification process in September 2012 and only about 50 items have yet to be checked, according to the company.