(Yicai Global) June 13 -- Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China's C919 airliner has passed cabin pressurization tests as it edges closer to making commercial flights.

The test was the first in a set of load-limit examinations the plane will need to undergo, and was a vital testament to its airworthiness, the Securities Times reported. The assessment checks to ensure the fuselage remains airtight so staff can control air pressure within the plane during flights, and tests up to a 150-percent working load.

The next hurdle for the C919 will be a load limit test at acceleration of 2.5 times faster than the earth's gravitational pull.

The narrow-body twinjet C919 is Comac's first civil trunk aircraft built using its own patents. It took its maiden flight in May and will undergo intensive flight tests at several Chinese airports this year to obtain an airworthiness certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China by the end of 2020.

Editor: James Boynton