On July 9, CAAC issued a production certificate for ARJ21-700 jetliner to the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd. (COMAC), marking the beginning of mass production of this type of aircraft. CAAC Deputy Administrator Li Jian, COMAC General Manager He Dongfeng, and Yang Shuanchang, Deputy Director General of Industrial Equipment Department Chief of Ministry of Industry and Information Technology attended the presentation ceremony.

Li Jian, on behalf of CAAC, conveyed congratulations to COMAC, and extended sincere greetings to the ARJ21-700 Production Certification Committee and Review Group. He highlighted that the issuance of production certificate for ARJ21-700 shows that COMAC has established a quality management system which satisfies the requirements of CAAC’s airworthiness regulations, and marks a solid step of civil aircraft manufacturing industry towards international standards. The certificate represents a reliable assurance of the mass production of the aircraft. The achievement made on ARJ21-700 is attributed to dedications and contributions from various parties in aircraft design, manufacturing, operation, airworthiness certification and operational supervision. It is hoped that COMAC, taking this as a new starting point, further integrates itself into China civil aviation safety and operation management system in aspects of design, production and service, and ensures the safety and airworthiness of each delivered aircraft. CAAC, together with aviation manufacturing enterprises, will carry forward the patriotic tradition of boosting China through civil aviation industry, and make persistent efforts in developing China’s aircraft manufacturing industry towards the world’s middle-to-high-end level.

COMAC General Manager He Dongfeng said that the ARJ21-700 production certificate is the first one issued for China-made jetliners, marking another milestone after the very aircraft got a type certificate. Since it submitted an application for production certificate of ARJ21-700 in December 2014, with CAAC’s strong support and strict certification, COMAC has developed a Production Quality Assurance Manual and 190 procedure documents, accomplished quality system evaluation and review in accordance with established procedures, and met the requirements of relevant regulations. In the next step, COMAC plans to strengthen its management, expand its production capacity, and deliver five ARJ21-700 aircraft to its clients by the end of this year.

Three airworthiness certificates are needed from the development to the delivery of a civil aircraft, namely, a type certificate which indicates the type design meets the requirements of airworthiness regulations, a production certificate which shows that mass production quality system satisfies the requirements of procedures in airworthiness regulations, and an airworthiness certificate which demonstrates the physical configuration of a single unit complies with the requirements of type design. A production certificate represents the organization, quality control and comprehensive management of the principal manufacturer, indicating that each detail of aircraft production including raw materials, supplier management and manufacturing process is based on certain rules, and all of components, parts and systems are traceable and controllable in safety. Since the first ARJ21-700 aircraft was delivered to Chengdu Airlines on November 29, 2015, it has transported over 15000 passengers. Up to now, COMAC has received 413 orders from 19 customers.