Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, today announced the Citation CJ4 business jet is nearing type certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency.

Trevor Esling, Cessna's vice president, International Sales, said: "The final stages of the approvals process are underway and we expect certification very soon."

The CJ4 gained U.S. Federal Aviation Administration certification in March 2010. The CJ4 made its European debut at the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition in Geneva in May 2010 and the first European delivery took place in October of that year.

The Citation CJ4 is the newest and largest member of the popular CJ family of business jets, which also includes the CJ2+ and CJ3. The CJ4 is approved for single-pilot operations and shares a common pilot type rating with the other CJs (a pilot rated to fly any one of the CJs is rated to fly them all). Retail price for a typically equipped CJ4 is $9 million.

The CJ4 has a range of 2,002 nautical miles (3,710 kilometers) and a top speed of 453 knots (839 kilometers an hour). The aircraft has a takeoff roll of 3,130 feet (954 meters) at maximum takeoff weight. The CJ4 is powered by two Williams International FJ44-4A full authority digital engine control engines and features a four-screen Collins Pro Line 21 avionics suite. A video highlighting the aircraft's features is available on Cessna's YouTube channel.