Airbus Questions Certification Basis for B747, Red Herring?

There's an article in Flight International today, in which da Festung is sniping at Boeing, particularly the plan to certify the 747-8 as a derivative of the 747-400. John Leahy, always ready with a whinge when it's needed says that the B747-8 is that the structural design and the door layout is "wrong" and that "we should all be certificating to the latest standards".

However, EASA has said they consider it a derivative of the B747 and they will require a full scale evacuation test.....as they should. One could probably determine pretty easily if the original stress substantiations hold up or not. The structural engineering isn't going to change.

Douglas tried to sell computer simulations, and so did Airbus. Nobody in the regulatory community bought that line of crap from Douglas on the MD11 and nobody bought it on the A380. So yes, there will be a full on evacuation test.

But Leahy's argument is another in a series of red herring attacks from Toulouse that we've come to expect....last year it was composites and ramp vehicle rash. What next?

It sounds like sour grapes because Airbus lost a pretty hefty order to Lufthansa, methinks.

Stay tuned.