Delay follows Embraer 170 first flight

Brazil’s Embraer staged perhaps its most anticipated achievement since the introduction of the 50-seat ERJ-145 when on February 19 the 70-seat Embraer 170 made its first flight over São José dos Campos. The first non-derivative commercial jet ever built by Embraer, prototype number 0001 flew for 2 hr 30 min. Embraer officials acknowledged that a two-month ground-testing delay will force it to reassess its certification schedule. The company said it would decide “in the coming weeks” whether or not to move the scheduled fourth-quarter certification target to next year’s first quarter.