Editing Airbus A330 (section)

===Production and testing===
[[File:Airbus Factory Toulouse.jpg|thumb|upright|A330 final assembly line in [[Toulouse]], 2007]]

In preparation for the production of the A330 and the A340, Airbus's partners invested heavily in new facilities. In south-western England, BAe made a [[Pound sterling|£]]7&nbsp;million investment in a three-storey technical centre with {{cvt|15000|m2|sigfig=3}} of floor area at [[Filton]].{{sfn|Norris|Wagner|2001|p=51}} In north Wales, BAe also spent £5&nbsp;million on a new production line at its [[Broughton, Flintshire|Broughton]] wing production plant.{{sfn|Norris|Wagner|2001|p=51}} In Germany, [[Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm]] (MBB) invested [[Deutsche Mark|DM]]400&nbsp;million ($225&nbsp;million) on manufacturing facilities in the [[Weser]] estuary, including at [[Bremen]], Einswarden, [[Varel]], and [[Hamburg]].{{sfn|Norris|Wagner|2001|pp=53–54}} France saw the biggest investments, with [[Aérospatiale]] constructing a new [[French franc|Fr.]]2.5&nbsp;billion ($411&nbsp;million) final-assembly plant adjacent to [[Toulouse-Blagnac Airport]] in [[Colomiers]]; by November 1988, the pillars for the new ''[[Clément Ader]]'' assembly hall had been erected.{{sfn|Norris|Wagner|2001|p=52}} The assembly process featured increased automation, such as robots drilling holes and installing fasteners during the wing-to-fuselage mating process.{{sfn|Norris|Wagner|2001|p=53}}

On 12 March 1987, Airbus received the first orders for the twinjet. Domestic French airline [[Air Inter]] placed five firm orders and fifteen [[Option (aircraft purchasing)|options]], while [[Thai Airways International]] requested eight aircraft, split evenly between firm orders and options.<ref name=kingsley />{{sfn|Norris|Wagner|2001|p=31}} Airbus announced the next day that it would formally launch the A330 and A340 programmes by April 1987, with deliveries of the A340 to begin in May 1992 and A330 deliveries to start in 1993. [[Northwest Airlines]] signed a letter of intent for twenty A340s and ten A330s on 31 March.{{sfn|Norris|Wagner|2001|p=31}} In 2001, the program cost with the A340 was {{FXConvert|USA|3.5|b|year=2001|index=US-GDP|showdate=no|cursign=$}}.<ref name="Flight010612">{{cite news |url= https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/long-time-coming-131205/ |title= Long time coming |date= 12 June 2001 |work= Flight International}}</ref>

BAe eventually received £450&nbsp;million of funding from the UK government, well short of the £750&nbsp;million it had originally requested for the design and construction of the wings.{{sfn|Norris|Wagner|2001|p=32}} The German and French governments also provided funding. Airbus issued subcontracts to companies in Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Greece, Italy, India, Japan, South Korea, Portugal, the United States, and the former Yugoslavia.{{sfn|Norris|Wagner|2001|pp=32, 55}} With funding in place, Airbus launched the A330 and A340 programmes on 5 June 1987, just before the [[Paris Air Show]].{{sfn|Norris|Wagner|2001|p=32}}<ref>{{cite press release |url= http://www.airbus.com/newsevents/news-events-single/detail/launch-of-a-new-family-of-aircraft-the-a330-300-the-a340-200-and-the-a340-300/ |title= Launch of a new family of aircraft: the A330-300, the A340-200 and the A340-300 |publisher= Airbus |date= 5 June 1987 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170224052202/http://www.airbus.com/newsevents/news-events-single/detail/launch-of-a-new-family-of-aircraft-the-a330-300-the-a340-200-and-the-a340-300/ |archive-date= 24 February 2017}}</ref> At that time, the order book stood at 130 aircraft from ten customers, including lessor [[International Lease Finance Corporation]] (ILFC). Of the order total, forty-one were for A330s.{{sfn|Norris|Wagner|2001|p=32}} In 1989, Asian carrier [[Cathay Pacific]] joined the list of purchasers, ordering nine A330s and later increasing this number to eleven.{{sfn|Eden|2008|p=32}}

The wing-to-fuselage mating of the first A330, the tenth airframe of the A330 and A340 line, began in mid February 1992. This aircraft, coated with anti-corrosion paint, was rolled out on 31 March without its [[General Electric CF6|General Electric CF6-80E1]] engines, which were installed by August. During a static test, the wing failed just below requirement; BAe engineers later resolved the problem.{{sfn|Norris|Wagner|2001|pp=78–79}} At the 1992 [[Farnborough Airshow]], Northwest deferred delivery of sixteen A330s to 1994, following the cancellation of its A340 orders.{{sfn|Norris|Wagner|2001|pp=71, 78}}

The first completed A330 was rolled out on 14 October 1992, with the [[maiden flight]] following on 2 November. Weighing {{cvt|181840|kg|sigfig=3}}, including {{cvt|20980|kg|lb|sigfig=3}} of test equipment,{{sfn|Norris|Wagner|2001|pp=78–79}} the A330 became the largest twinjet to have flown until the first flight of the [[Boeing 777]]. The flight lasted five hours and fifteen minutes during which speed, height, and other flight configurations were tested. Airbus intended the test flight programme to comprise six aircraft flying a total of 1,800 hours.{{sfn|Norris|Wagner|2001|pp=78–79}} On 21 October 1993, the A330 received the European [[Joint Aviation Authorities]] (JAA) and the US [[Federal Aviation Administration]] (FAA) certifications simultaneously after 1,114 cumulative airborne test hours and 426 test flights. At the same time, weight tests came in favourable, showing the plane was {{cvt|500|kg|lb|sigfig=3}} underweight.<!-- This coincided with the revelation of weight test results showing the aircraft was {{cvt|500|kg|sigfig=3}} under its expected weight -->{{sfn|Norris|Wagner|2001|p=85}}

On 30 June 1994, [[Airbus Industrie Flight 129|a fatal crash occurred]] during certification of the Pratt & Whitney engine when an A330 crashed near Toulouse.<ref>{{cite web |title= Accident description |publisher= Aviation-Safety.net |date= 24 January 2011 |url= http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19940630-0 |access-date=25 January 2011}}</ref> Both pilots and the five passengers died.{{sfn|Norris|Wagner|2001|pp=86–87}} The flight was designed to test [[autopilot]] response during a one-engine-off worst-case scenario with the [[Center of gravity of an aircraft|centre of gravity]] near its [[Center of gravity of an aircraft#CG aft of aft limit|aft limit]]. Shortly after takeoff, the pilots had difficulty setting the autopilot, and the aircraft lost speed and crashed.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=A330 crash caused by series of small errors |last=Learmount |first=David |date=10–16 August 1994 |magazine=Flight International |issue=4433 |volume=146 |page=6 |access-date=19 February 2012 |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1994/1994%20-%201864.html |issn=0161-7370}}</ref> An investigation by an internal branch of ''Direction Générale d'Aviation'' concluded that the accident resulted from slow response and incorrect actions by the crew during the recovery.{{sfn|Norris|Wagner|2001|p=89}} This led to a revision of A330 operating procedures.<ref>{{harnvb|Eden|2008|p=31.}}</ref>