Current status, challenges, and countermeasures for airworthiness certification of China’s large homegrown aircraft

Authors

• Liming GE, Institute of International Civil Aviation, Antai College of Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, ChinaFollow
• Mingda YANG, School of Economics and Management, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
• Zixuan LIU, School of Public Administration and Policy, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Shanghai 200433, China
• Yichen WANG, Institute of International Civil Aviation, Antai College of Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China
• Jing DENG, College of Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 211106, ChinaFollow

Keywords

domestically produced large aircraft, airworthiness certification, C919 airplane

Abstract

The airworthiness certification of domestically produced large aircraft serves as both a crucial foundation for achieving self-reliance and independent control over China’s aviation industry chain and a key support for deep participation in the governance of global civil aviation rules. Currently, the airworthiness certification system has taken initial shape, localized infrastructure networks are gradually improving, and the benefits of a super-large market are continuously being realized, effectively facilitating the successful large-scale commercial operation of the C919 airplane. The development of domestic large aircraft families places greater demands on certification resource coordination and airworthiness management throughout the aircraft life cycle. However, during the rapid production ramp-up phase, China still faces multiple challenges, including capacity bottlenecks in review teams and shortages of domestic third-party certification bodies; efficiency constraints in airworthiness approval mechanisms and underutilization of organizational delegation systems; impacts from non-technical factors and barriers to influence over rulemaking; as well as disruptions in the closed-loop process for continuing airworthiness and inadequate intelligent assessment capabilities. To address these issues, this study proposes optimization pathways across several aspects: introducing market-oriented mechanisms to activate diversified delegation; deepening reforms in approval mechanisms and optimizing delegation to organizations; enhancing reciprocal reviews and mechanisms for responding to external pressures; and advancing intelligent governance and digital transformation paradigms, with the aim of establishing an independent airworthiness system that combines China’s distinctive characteristics with international credibility. Such reforms should improve certification efficiency while safeguarding aviation safety, using feedback from aircraft operations to support design optimization and continuous improvements in the certification process.

First page

2059

Last Page

2070

Language

Chinese

Publisher

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

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Recommended Citation

GE, Liming; YANG, Mingda; LIU, Zixuan; WANG, Yichen; and DENG, Jing (2026) "Current status, challenges, and countermeasures for airworthiness certification of China’s large homegrown aircraft," Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version): Vol. 41 : Iss. 10 , Article 6.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3724/j.issn.1000-3045.20260701003
Available at: https://bulletinofcas.researchcommons.org/journal/vol41/iss10/6