Following an extensive two-year flight test programme, Airbus has successfully concluded its Autonomous Taxi, Take-Off and Landing (ATTOL) project. The project saw one of its jets perform normally pilot-flown maneuvers entirely on its own. The A350-1000 XWB acted as the testbed for the project through fully automatic vision-based flight tests using on-board image recognition technology – a world-first in aviation.
As Boeing is mired in controversies after two fatal crashes involving its 737 Max 8, Airbus becomes world’s biggest aircraft company. For the first time since 2011, Airbus has managed to defeat Boeing as it delivered 863 aircraft in 2019. US aerospace giant set its delivery target at 860 aircraft. However, it deployed extra resources to go beyond its revised target. Of the total 863 aircraft, 640 are single-aisle-aircraft.