Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has awarded Embraer with a type certification for its Phenom 300 light jet to operate the aircraft in the country.

The aircraft, which was first certified in December 2009 by Brazil's National Civil Aviation Agency and the US Federal Aviation Administration, is now accepted in almost 40 countries, Embraer said in a statement.

Australia is the second country in Asia Pacific after Indonesia to certify the aircraft type.

"This certification extends the acceptance of the Phenom 300 program across the globe and strengthens our portfolio of product offerings to customers in Asia Pacific," the Brazlian airframer said.

Phenom 300 FG.com

Jose Eduardo Costas, Embraer's vice-president for marketing and sales of executive jets in Asia Pacific, said the Phenom 300 has a number of attributes that make it suitable for the region.

Costas said the aircraft can operate in hot and high conditions, take off from short runways and climb to 45,000ft (13,716m) in 26 minutes.

The Phenom 300 is powered by two Pratt and Whitney PW535-E engines with a 3,360lb (14.95kN) thrust each and is one of the fastest aircrafts in the light jet category, the statement said.

The aircraft can reach 521mph (839km/h or 453kts). Its range of 1,971 nautical miles (3,650km), which include NBAA IFR fuel reserves, allows the aircraft to fly non-stop on routes such as Perth-Melbourne.

With Embraer's launch of the Phenom 300 in 2005, the same time as that of its entry-level sibling ­- the Phenom 100, there are close to 250 Phenom family aircraft in operation today.

In 2010, 26 Phenom 300s were delivered.

Source: Flight International