China’s AG600 completes maiden flight

China’s first self-developed amphibious aircraft AG600 has completed its maiden flight in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province.

It took off at the Zhuhai Jinwan Airport at 9:38 a.m. BJT on Sunday.

The aircraft has conducted scheduled tests, including the preliminary inspection of systems and basic control performance, during around 60-minute flight.

AG600 is the world's largest amphibious plane and the first large specialist civil aircraft developed entirely in China.

The 37-meter-long plane is around the size of a Boeing 737 and has a wingspan of 38.8 meters.

It rolled off the production line on July 23 last year and passed the official technical quality assessment at the beginning of December with a special flight permit issued on December 7.

The amphibious aircraft is expected to be used to control forest fires, and to conduct maritime search and rescue operations.

(CGTN)