China's C919 passenger plane makes maiden flight

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From BBC

China's first domestically-manufactured passenger jet has successfully completed its maiden commercial flight. 

State TV showed the C919 rising into the skies above Shanghai, heading to the capital Beijing early on Sunday.

It was built by the Commercial Aviation Corporation of China (Comac) in the hope of breaking the dominance of Airbus and Boeing's single-aisle jets. 

But the 164-seater still relies heavily on Western components, including engines and avionics.

State-backed China Eastern Airline has ordered five of the planes. 

Comac - which plans to produce 150 planes annually in five years' time - says it has already secured more than 1,200 orders for the C919.

Some experts, however, say that most of these orders are believed to be letters of intent from domestic customers.