Chinese and American Aviation Administrations Sign Airworthiness Agreement
Dou Shicong
DATE:  Oct 25 2017
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
Chinese and American Aviation Administrations Sign Airworthiness Agreement Chinese and American Aviation Administrations Sign Airworthiness Agreement

(Yicai Global) Oct. 25 -- The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said it signed a bilateral airworthiness agreement with the US Federal Aviation Administration after years of negotiations, and the deal took effect Oct. 17.

The agreement points to China's advances in the civil aviation industry and improvements in industry standards and could pave the way for domestic commercial aircraft to enter mainstream global markets, Chinese experts said.

"The signing of the agreement laid the foundation for deeper and broader cooperation between the two countries' civil aviation authorities and created a positive bilateral environment for the exchange of the two countries' civil aviation products and the cooperation of the countries' industrial sectors," the CAAC said.

Airworthiness is used as a standard to evaluate the flight safety of an aircraft and its components in a specific environment.

"All new aircraft have to obtain airworthiness certificates before entering the market, and currently there are two widely recognized certificates -- one from the FAA and the other from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)," said Lin Zhijie, an industry expert.

Although the CAAC has been issuing airworthiness certificates, the procedure was not fully established or widely recognized, Lin said. The signing of the agreement with the FAA is a big step that could speed up the export of the large Chinese passenger jet C919, said Lin.

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Keywords:   Airworthiness,Federal Aviation Administration,Civil Aviation Administration of China