AW169 Helicopter Completes Its Maiden Flight

AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, is pleased to announce that the first prototype of the AW169, a new generation 4.5 ton light intermediate helicopter, successfully completed its maiden flight yesterday. The AW169 programme is on schedule to achieve basic civil certification in 2014. The AW169 was flown by AgustaWestland’s Chief Test Pilot, Giuseppe Lo Coco, Test Pilot Giuseppe Afruni, and Flight Test Engineers Massimo Longo and Stefano Rognoni at the company’s Cascina Costa plant in Italy. The helicopter performed as expected during the flight which included an assessment of the helicopter’s general handling and basic systems. The first prototype will be joined by two more aircraft later this year and a fourth prototype in 2013.