Arkansas City-built GE jet engine receives FAA certification

GE Aviation has received Federal Aviation Administration type certification for its new business jet engine, the Passport, which is manufactured in Arkansas City.

The certification moves the jet engine program toward its 2018 entry into service on Bombardier Business Aircraft’s new Global 7000 business jet, GE Aviation said in a news release.

GE selected its Strother Field plant in Arkansas City to be the manufacturing site for the engine last year. The plant also will maintain the engines. In addition to manufacturing the Passport engines, the plant services GE engines for regional jets, narrowbody airliners, helicopters and other airplanes.

A GE Aviation spokesman said Tuesday that the Strother Field plant has shipped the first Passport engines to Bombardier for its Global 7000 test aircraft.

This story was originally published May 24, 2016 at 10:12 AM with the headline "Arkansas City-built GE jet engine receives FAA certification."