Leonardo-Finmeccanica Resumes Flight Tests Of AW609 Tiltrotor Prototypes

Leonardo-Finmeccanica has resumed flight testing of its AW609 tiltrotor prototype following the fatal October 2015 crash in Italy.

AW609 titlrotor prototype AC1 arrived in Philadelphia Thursday, the company said in a statement.

With industrialization underway, Leonardo-Finmeccanica has expanded the AW609 TiltRotor program to include the company’s Philadelphia facility. The involvement of the Philadelphia site in the AW609 program represents the anticipated progression towards assembly and certification with the FAA as the certification authority.

While this flying prototype will soon be relocated to Italy, flight testing activities in Philadelphia will continue upon the arrival of an AW609 recently assembled and ground tested in Italy. Another AW609 is being assembled in Philadelphia with plans to enter the test fleet in 2017. Certification of the first commercial tiltrotor is expected in 2018, with deliveries to customers to follow.