Agency hands over first approval to a CIS transport aircraft

The Tupolev TU 204-120CE model received its Type Certificate from the European Aviation Safety Agency(EASA). The approval was handed over by Patrick Goudou, EASA ExecutiveDirector, and Dr. Norbert Lohl, EASA Certification Director, at a ceremony in Moscow, Russia,today.

Patrick Goudou praisedthe good collaboration between the two certification authorities, the AviationRegister of the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC AR) andEASA. “This is the first EASA approval for a transport aircraft designed by anorganisation from the Commonwealth of Independent States”, said Mr. Goudou. “Iam confident it will serve as a model for future projects”.

The TU 204-120CE is thecargo version of the TU 204. The fly-by-wire aircraft is powered by twoRolls-Royce RB211-535E4 turbofan engines and offers an “English-languagecockpit”, with operations documentation in English. Its maximum take-off weightis 103 000 kg, with a maximum payload of 27 000 kg.

The certificationprocess for the TU 204-120CE began within the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA)and was taken over by EASA when the Agency was set up in 2003. A team of 20certification specialists scrutinised the aircraft’s design to ensure that itcomplies with the Agency’s stringent safety and environmental standards,including over 100 technical meetings and several test flights by the Agency’sflight test team.

The EASA TypeCertificate is valid throughout the European Union, as well as in Switzerland, Norway,Iceland and Liechtenstein,where the TU 204-120CE can now be legally registered and operated.