C919 receives CAAC production certificate in milestone for homegrown aviation

The C919, China's first self-developed narrow-body passenger jet, received its production certificate on Tuesday from the Civil Aviation Administration of China in Shanghai, indicating the model can be put into mass production.

Commercial Aircraft Corp of China, its manufacturer, said obtaining the certificate was an important milestone for the aircraft indicating the C919 has taken a solid step toward industrialization.

Comparable to the Airbus A320 and Boeing B737 series, the C919 received its type certificate in late September, which gave design approval.

The first C919 aircraft has completed its production test flights and fulfilled delivery requirements, and it is expected to be delivered to China Eastern Airlines in December. So far, the C919 has received 1,115 orders from home and abroad.

The production certificate serves as a permit issued by the authority to the aircraft manufacturer and allows a model to be put into continuous production based on an approved quality control system, COMAC said.

The issuing of a production certificate demonstrates the production organization and control, quality control and overall management of an aviation manufacturer have reached a certain level. From the standards of raw materials to the management of suppliers, production supervision and after-sale maintenance, every detail must be rule-based and documented, COMAC said.

"The C919 also needs to get the last certificate, or a permit for commercial operation of passenger flights. Only after all three certificates are obtained can an aircraft model be put into commercial use," said Lin Zhijie, an aviation industry analyst and a columnist at Carnoc, a major civil aviation website.