Watch Airbus push its planes to the extreme with intense water ingestion tests

Cool footage shows how Airbus carries out water ingestion tests on its planes to assess how they will operate on wet runways. 

As you’d expect, planes have to undergo an extensive program of testing before they’re declared safe to take to the skies carrying passengers. 

From the earliest stages of design, planes are rigorously tested and retested to ensure their safety. 

Amongst the myriad tests carried out by Airbus on its passenger planes is the ‘water ingestion test’, which sees the plane splashing through a water-logged runway. 

DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie

Airbus tests its planes on special water troughs

In 2017, the A350-1000—dubbed the ‘King of the Skies’—was taken to the Istres Air Force Base in southern France for the water ingestion test. 

Once at the base it was ‘purposely run along an inundated surface to demonstrate the robustness of the aircraft and to secure its maturity from entry-into-service’.

In the test, the A350-1000 was placed on a runway with a specially designed water trough that is able to mimic conditions after heavy rainfall. 

Crewmembers progressively accelerated the aircraft through the standing water a total of five times at speeds that varied from 80 to 140 knots

Airbus said the A350-1000 performed as ‘expected’ during the test. 

There’s a good reason for the test

Video footage of the test looks like a lot of fun, but – of course – there’s a serious reason behind it. 

“When taking off or landing on a contaminated runway and depending on the level of water, the water spray may enter the engine and affect its behavior,” Airbus explained in a post on X. 

“New planes go through water trough testing to assess the risks of water ingestion, primarily by the engines.” 

The test is able to show how the plane would behave on a rain-soaked runway. It also shows that heavy rainfall, and the spray from taxiing through it, does not disrupt critical components like the engines, brakes, and electrical systems.

“These tests assess the correct functioning of engines and thrust reversers, as well as braking systems, when submitted to water thrown up by the wheels in cases of standing water on the runway,” Airbus’s Justin Dubon told the BBC. 

It looks pretty cool, too, doesn’t it?