AgustaWestland Expects AW189 Certification by Year-end

AgustaWestland expects that its 16- to 18-passenger AW189 medium-twin helicopter will be EASA certified by year-end. Four prototypes and two pre-production aircraft have logged a combined 1,900 flight hours, it said. Certification, once hoped for this summer, is now “very close,” according to a company spokesman. The first delivery, to offshore operator Bristow, is scheduled to take place by year-end, he told AIN. Meanwhile, the first AW189 flight-training device has just been qualified and is available at the Rotorsim training facility–an AgustaWestland joint venture with CAE–near Milan.