China-made airliner makes dash flight for organ transplant
An OTT Airlines staff delivers a human organ at Nanchang airport in Jiangxi Province.
China's first domestically-made regional jet has completed its first dash commercial flight to transport a human organ from east China's Jiangxi Province to Shanghai.
The ARJ21-700 passenger aircraft, operated by the Shanghai-based OTT Airlines, flew at the fastest speed of 1,060 kilometers per hour from Nanchang to Shanghai's Pudong International Airport on Sunday, shortening the length of the flight by over half an hour, the airline said on Tuesday.
It marked the first human organ transport mission of OTT Airlines, a subsidiary of China Eastern, since it was established in February 2020. OTT's fleet will be mainly composed of ARJ21 regional jets and C919 single-aisle aircraft, along with other Chinese-developed passenger aircraft.
Xue Tao, the captain of the flight, received the urgent task on Sunday afternoon to transport the donated organ from the Jiangxi capital to Shanghai for a transplantation surgery, which had to be completed within eight hours.
The captain applied to the air traffic controller to fly at the maximum speed, because not much turbulence was predicted along the route. Nanchang airport also opened a green channel for the doctor surnamed Zhang to catch the flight on time.
A doctor boards OTT Airlines' ARJ21 regional jet with a human organ for a transplant surgery.
The ARJ21 operating the Flight MU9066 took off at 2:40pm from Nanchang and landed at Pudong airport at 3:54pm, 31 minutes ahead of schedule.
The ARJ21 is China's first turbo-fan regional passenger jetliner which has a range of 3,700 kilometers. It can fly in alpine and plateau regions, and adapt to various airport conditions.
The ARJ21 was first put into commercial service by Chengdu Airlines in June 2016 and is operated by seven domestic carriers, including Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines.
The ARJ21 has been servicing more than 90 cities with 220 routes. This aircraft type has transported in excess of 3.4 million passengers. Flying tests are running smoothly for six prototypes of the C919 single-aisle aircraft.
The carrier conducted its maiden commercial flight in December 2020. OTT stands for One Two Three, a name inspired by the "Tao Te Ching," a classic text from ancient philosopher Lao Tzu. The name could also represent "On-time Travel" and "Over-the-top Travel" to showcase its ambitions, according to China Eastern.
The panel of an ARJ21 jet shows it has reached a high speed of 315 knots.
Xue Tao (right), the captain of the flight, and the doctor surnamed Zhang.
