Embraer receives production certificate for Melbourne

In a ceremony at Embraer Executive Jets' Melbourne Campus, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) presented Embraer its Production Certificate to assemble Phenom 100s in the United States. Previously, Phenom jets assembled in Melbourne have been certified under the FAA type certificate granted to those produced in Brazil.

"This is a significant milestone for Embraer and is the culmination of a series of achievements in the last year," said Ernest Edwards, President, Embraer Executive Jets. "We opened this facility just over a year ago, delivered the first U.S.-produced Phenom 100 in December and the first U.S.-produced aircraft to go to an international customer in March."

The presentation caps four years of work by a dedicated team of professionals at Embraer and the FAA at both its FAA Manufacturing Inspection District Office (MIDO) office in Orlando and its Small Aircraft Directorate in Kansas City that inspects and certifies aircraft companies to manufacture products under an FAA-approved type design.

"The production certificate is a testament to the hard work of a team of Embraer employees," said Phil Krull, Managing Director, Melbourne Production. "We are justly proud of this facility in which we combined highly educated, high-tech people with advanced production techniques that are on the leading edge of modern aircraft production. Melbourne is Embraer's first 'paper-less' line, a leaner, cleaner and faster process. Our employees here are proving these concepts and are leading the way. This FAA certification is recognition of that."

The Production Certificate is an approval under 14 Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) Part 21 and managed by the Small Aircraft Directorate. The Embraer and FAA teams worked on quality manuals, procedures and product audits, as well as, internal and external supplier visits to ensure all facets of production met the highest quality and safety standards.