The trial was conducted at the company's Airbreathing Test Facility in Orange County, Virginia, and involved a full-scale engine tested at conditions simulating high-altitude, high-speed flight.
However, in June 1994, an A330 owned by Airbus on a testflight simulating an engine failure on takeoff crashed shortly after leaving Toulouse, killing all seven people on board.
In order to validate auxiliary airstart performance of a gas turbine starter designed only for the ground engine, the test of auxiliary airstart was conducted on the flight test rig.