Japan's Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) made its maiden flight Wednesday morning at Nagoya Airport in Aichi Prefecture.

The MRJ took off from the airport at 9:35 a.m. local time and landed smoothly after about an hour flight around the surrounding airspace.

The MRJ is the nation's first domestically developed passenger airplane in half a century since the YS-11 entered into service. The MRJ has a seat capacity of between 70 and 90 and is designed for short-distance routes.

Mitsubishi Aircraft plans to deliver the first mass-produced MRJ to its launch customer All Nippon Airways between April and June 2017.