In a first, Boeing flies hydrogen-powered plane

0 Comments | AFP, April, 2008

OCANA, Spain (AFP) — US aircraft giant Boeing claimed Thursday a world first in putting into the air a plane powered by a hydrogen-cell battery, a breakthrough that could herald a greener future for the industry.

"For the first time in the history of aviation, Boeing has flown a manned airplane that was powered by a hydrogen battery," Boeing chief technology officer John Tracy said.

The development was "a historical technological success for Boeing (and) ... full of promises for a greener future," he told a news conference at the firm's research centre in the central Spanish town of Ocana.

Boeing staged three successful test flights of the 6.5-metre long plane in February and March at an airfield at Ocana, just south of Madrid.

The company said that...