China’s first indigenously-made regional jetliner ARJ21-700 has successfully conducted cold weather testing, a crucial step in getting the type certificate, China News Service’s Website reported Monday.

Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), the ARJ21’s manufacturer, told media Monday the ARJ21-700 plane with serial number 103 successfully flew from Hailar district, Hulun Buir city of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to Yanliang district of Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, finishing the cold weather ground and flight testing.

COMAC said two ARJ21 jets with serial number 102 and 103 underwent the cold soak testing on the ground and during the flight in January, according to China News Service’s Website.

The report said the ARJ21 will conduct other extreme weather tests in the near future.

ARJ21 project began in 2002 and the jetliner is China’s first home-grown passenger jet. ARJ21-700 is the baseline model which will have a capability of 78-90 passengers.

ARJ21 is expected to get its type certificate and be delivered to its first user – Chengdu Airlines by the end of this year at the earliest.

COMAC also has a plan to receive the United States FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) certification for ARJ21 in 2012, earlier media reports said.

COMAC is a Chinese aerospace manufacturer established in 2008 in Shanghai. The state-owned corporation is also building China’s first large passenger aircraft – C919, which is a 168-190 seat narrow-body jetliner and is expected to be delivered in 2016.