Editing DFS 346 (section)

===Final flights===
By the mid-1951 '''346-3''' was completed, and Ziese flew it under power for the first time on 13 August 1951, using only one of the engines. Continuing concerns about the aircraft's stability at high speeds had led to a [[V speeds|V<sub>NE</sub>]] limit of [[speed of sound|Mach]]{{nbsp}}0.9 being placed during test flights. Ziese flew it again on 2 September and 14 September. On this last flight, however, things went drastically wrong. Separating from the carrier plane at 9,300 meters (30,500&nbsp;ft) above Lukovici airfield, the pilot fired the engine and accelerated to a speed of 900&nbsp;km/h (560&nbsp;mph). The rocket engine worked as expected, and 346-3, quickly accelerating, started ascending and soon had flown in very close proximity of its carrier aircraft.<ref name="dfs"/>

Ziese then reported that the plane was not responding to the controls, and was losing altitude. Ground control commanded him to bail out. He used the escape capsule to leave the stricken aircraft at 6,500 meters (21,000&nbsp;ft) and landed safely by parachute. With the loss of this aircraft, the 346 program was abandoned.<ref name="dfs"/>