He was the chief test pilot for the Dassault Mirage G in 1968.
At Airbus, his career spans from chief test pilot (1972), to senior vice president for flight and support and then, to senior vice president for engineering.
As a test pilot, he flew the first flights of the Airbus A300, A310, A320 and the A340.
Bernard Ziegler was the most influential figure in developing the cockpit design and fly-by-wire control system for the Airbus airliners.
He proposed that numerous technological innovations be applied to Airbus aircraft; for example, using composites, twin-engine configuration for the A300, fly-by-wire and many others.
He was the guiding force in the creation of the flight envelope protection, incorporated in the Airbus flight-control software.
This innovation allows the pilot to apply the maximum control forces considered necessary, while preventing inadvertent inputs that could place the aircraft outside the safety margin.
This feature is considered by many to be highly beneficial in avoiding unusual attitudes in flight and in safely maximizing the effectiveness of evasive maneuvers in response to GPWS warnings.
For his efforts in advancing the fly-by-wire cause, he was honoured by the Flight Safety Foundation in 1998.
He retired from Airbus after 25 years of service in 1997.