Textron Aviation's Citation CJ4, CJ3 and M2 Gen3 Top 1,220 Flight Test Hours Toward Autoland Certification

Textron Aviation announced that its Cessna Citation CJ4 Gen3, CJ3 Gen3 and M2 Gen3 have accumulated more than 1,220 combined flight test hours as the company works toward FAA certification. All three aircraft will feature Garmin Emergency Autoland, which can automatically guide an aircraft to a suitable airport and land it following pilot incapacitation or another emergency.

The CJ4 Gen3 has logged nearly 1,100 flight test hours across two aircraft. Recent testing has included hot-weather operations and electrical system certification. Textron Aviation also announced that the first production CJ4 Gen3 has rolled out of its Wichita factory, equipped with Garmin G3000 PRIME avionics and integrated autothrottles.

The CJ3 Gen3 has completed more than 60 flight test hours, with current testing focused on landing and braking performance. The M2 Gen3, which made its first flight in June, has accumulated more than 75 hours and is approaching simulated in-flight emergency activation testing, including automated airport selection and landing.

Garmin expects Emergency Autoland certification for all three Citation Gen3 models in 2027. The system can be activated manually by a passenger or automatically following a lack of pilot interaction, and it handles navigation, emergency communications and landing without further intervention. Garmin recently announced that Autoland has been installed on more than 2,500 aircraft across more than 15 models.

Spreading one emergency-landing system across three Citation models in the same generation shows how a feature once sold as an add-on is becoming part of the base certification package. For a manufacturer, that means the avionics integration work is done once per platform and then carried through the line, which also shifts the safety conversation from whether a jet has the capability to how well it performs in testing.

The spread of flight test hours is uneven, and that matters for reading the schedule. The CJ4 Gen3 carries almost all of the accumulated time, while the CJ3 Gen3 and M2 Gen3 are still early in their programs, with the M2 Gen3 only now approaching its simulated in-flight emergency activation tests. Certification for the two smaller aircraft therefore depends on results that have not yet been produced.

The milestones that would settle the 2027 expectation are the completion of the M2 Gen3's automated airport selection and landing tests and the CJ3 Gen3's landing and braking work. Garmin's statement that Autoland is already installed on more than 2,500 aircraft shows the underlying system is established in service, so the open certification questions sit with the Citation-specific integration.