China's domestically made narrow-body aircraft C919 might make its maiden flight in the first quarter of 2017, a source from state-owned airframer Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd (COMAC) disclosed.

According to the source, the C919 is likely to make its debut flight in February, but the exact flight time is to be decided as there are many details that need to be worked out.

"COMAC is working round the clock, the February target is challenging but realistic... major experiments before the debut flight had already been completed."

In early November, COMAC ran the CFM International Leap-1C engines on the C919 for the first time. The engine was also certificated by the European Aviation Safety Agency and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration last week.

On December 25, 2016, the C919 prototype was moved to the trial flight center.

The aircraft 101 conducted its first low-speed taxi test on December 28, and that the jet has reached a state where it is fully preparing for its first flight.

Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines will become the first customer to take delivery of the C919, the Chinese airframer said during this year's Zhuhai airshow.

So far, COMAC has received 570 orders for the C919 from 23 customers, including Air China and China Southern Airlines.

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