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The Civil Aviation Department (CAD) today (December 19) issued a Certificate of Airworthiness to a Boeing 747-400 special freighter, which is the first Cathay Pacific Airwaysˇ¦ B747-400 freighter converted from a passenger aircraft.
At a ceremony held in the Taikoo (Xiamen) Aircraft Engineering Company Limited (TAECO) in Xiamen today, Director-General of Civil Aviation Mr Norman Lo said that there were a number of ˇ§firstsˇ¨ achieved in this event: the first conversion of a Boeing 747-400 passenger aircraft into a freighter; the first time that such a conversion was carried out outside the Boeing facility; and the first time that the certification flight tests were conducted outside the United States.
Mr Lo highlighted that the modification of the passenger aircraft to freighter was performed by TAECO in Xiamen. As a regulatory authority, CAD had been monitoring the progress with a view to ensuring that high standards of workmanship, airworthiness and safety were achieved. During the conduct of the intensive certification flight tests in Hong Kong airspace, the Hong Kong Air Traffic Control Centre worked closely with the Boeing flight test team to ensure the smooth completion of the rigorous flight tests within the busy Hong Kong airspace.
On the same occasion, TAECO also received an approval for its new hangar ˇV the fourth hangar of TAECO, which is capable of accommodating two aircraft, including an Airbus A380. Prior to the issue of the approval, a joint audit of the new facility was conducted to the satisfaction of CAD, the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China, Singapore Civil Aviation Authority, United States Federal Aviation Administration, Japan Civil Aviation Bureau and United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority. As this new hangar meets the regulatory requirements of the participating aviation authorities, it will come into service this month (December 2005).
Ends/Monday, December 19, 2005
Issued at HKT 16:01
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