MOSCOW, April 5 (AVN) - Restoration of the AN-70 military transport that crash-landed near Omsk on January 27 goes ahead of schedule, Leonid Terentyev, director general of the Medium Transport Aircraft international consortium, told the Military News Agency on Thursday.
The Polyot production association is now busy levelling the already assembled parts of the fuselage. The wing should be attached to the body by Sunday and then installation work on board the aircraft will begin. The current pace will allow to keep up with the schedule of the aircraft departure to Kiev slated for May.
Terentyev said that according to the previous programme of joint state tests of the Russian-Ukrainian AN-70, the plane was left with one more flight to make. The second stage of state tests will run alongside certification tests, which will last for about nine months. The previously approved test programme provided for AN-70 certification in the first quarter of 2002. However, the term is likely to be shifted due to the accident but it will not be a big shift, said Terentyev.
Participation of the AN-70 in the forthcoming Le Bourget air show "is not an essential element of the aircraft development programme". Since the accident has delayed the state tests, it should be balanced by speeding up the remaining part of tests. That is why participation of the AN-70 in Le Bourget air show will greatly depend on the position of the Russian and Ukrainian Air Force leadership, said Terentyev.