China successfully tested its first home-made commercial airliner today, with the pilots praising the handling of the regional jet, state press reported.
The one-hour maiden flight of the ARJ21 -- which stands for Advanced Regional Jet for the 21st Century -- took place in Shanghai where the plane is manufactured, the China News Service said.
"The plane flew normally and it handled well," the report quoted pilot Zhao Peng as saying. The maiden flight, which did not rise above 900 metres in altitude, had been expected earlier this year, the report said.
So far only six of the jets have been produced, it added. The flight comes after the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (CACC) announced the sale of five of the jets to US-based General Electric earlier this month at southern China's Zhuhai Airshow. Delivery is expected in 2013.
General Electric makes the engines for the Chinese-made aircraft which is designed to carry between 70 to 90 passengers on short-haul flights.
The plane and other jets to be produced by CACC are widely seen as part of a Chinese plan to eventually rival the dominance of aviation giants Airbus and Boeing.
The aircraft leasing arm of General Electric also signed an option to buy an additional 20 planes, in a deal that could be worth $735 mn.
The ARJ21 has not yet been approved by Chinese or American aviation regulators.