Boeing Co. has started conducting flight trials of its 777-9 aircraft with U.S. regulators on board, achieving a milestone toward certifying its jumbo airliner after years of setbacks.
The company announced that it took the initial test flight late Friday with Federal Aviation Administration personnel. Achieving so-called Type Inspection Authorization marks the start of certification flight testing, a key step in one of the most extensive commercial test efforts that Boeing has ever undertaken.
Regulators are putting the 777X test aircraft through a rigorous evaluation at a time when the U.S. planemaker is engulfed in crisis, with its manufacturing and engineering prowess called into question following a January accident involving the smaller 737 Max. While the 777X family is already five years behind schedule, clearing the first jet to enter the commercial market would mollify angry customers and help stem Boeing’s financial losses.
“The certification flight test will continue validating the airplane’s safety, reliability and performance,” Boeing said in an emailed statement. “We appreciate our regulator’s rigorous oversight.”
While Boeing said it has already spent time preparing for the items on FAA’s flying exam, it’s too soon to know if the plane will be ready for customers by next year, as executives have predicted. The FAA declined to comment on the certification effort, but noted that “safety always drives the timeline.”
“Generally this kind of thorough process takes many months,” the regulator said in an emailed statement.
The accomplishment, which was first reported by the Air Current, is rare good news. Boeing has logged around 480 orders for the 777-9, and two other planned models: the smaller 777-8 passenger jet and a freight-hauler. The aircraft, the largest twin-engine planes ever built, feature wings so long that the tips are hinged to flip upward while they taxi around airport gates.
Boeing’s pilots have already racked up more than 3,500 flight hours over 1,200 test flights since the first 777X took to the air in January 2020. The planemaker has four dedicated aircraft that are being used to test every aspect of its safety and operations, ranging from stability and control to cabin noise.
Touted as a more-efficient replacement to Boeing’s four-engine 747 jumbo jetliner and Airbus SE’s A380, the 777X has been in development for more than a decade and was originally slated to enter the market in 2020.
The delays have frustrated customers such as Emirates, Qatar Airways and Deutsche Lufthansa AG, forcing them to refurbish and continue flying aging jetliners they’d intended to replace.
The upgraded wide-body was caught up in the tougher regulatory scrutiny of Boeing’s products that followed two fatal crashes of its 737 Max jets in 2018 and 2019 that combined killed 346 people. The FAA and European regulators demanded extensive testing and redesign of several 777X components, including a critical avionics system and actuator-control electronics.
The commercial entry of the final two Max models has also been delayed as the FAA required that the planemaker redo engineering studies and redesign an engine deicing system prone to failure in certain conditions.
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(With assistance from Danny Lee, Siddharth Philip and Allyson Versprille.)
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