Boeing was forced to halt the certification test campaign for its Boeing 777X widebody aircraft in August 2024 after an issue was discovered on the plane during a certification flight, affecting the wings. They subsequently resumed the campaign in January 2025. There are new updates to the campaign as of August 2025, as the aircraft approaches entry into service.
Boeing Adds Fifth Aircraft to the Test fleet.
The Boeing 777X aeroplanes are the newest members of Boeing’s market-leading widebody aeroplane family. Based on the most successful widebody family, the 777, and with advanced technologies from the 787 Dreamliner family, the 777X family is designed to maximise efficiency and environmental performance while providing an exceptional passenger experience.
Tuesday’s flight marked the first time in nearly five years the team built, prepared and flew a 777-9 airplane. (Marian Lockhart photo)
Boeing continues to conduct a comprehensive series of tests and conditions with the 777-9 airplane, on the ground and in the air, to demonstrate the safety, reliability and performance of the design. The latest phase of a rigorous test program, flight testing of the 777-9 involves a dedicated fleet of four airplanes.
This fleet of aircraft has completed 1400 flights and 4,000 hours of test flying so far. Now, a new production model is entering the test fleet.
In addition to the dedicated flight test fleet, some production airplanes will support testing that does not require flight-test unique equipment and instrumentation, such as service-ready certification, extended operations (ETOPS) and functionality and reliability testing.
The fifth airplane to fly, WH286, is a production airplane and will undergo a defined series of ground and flight tests that will initially focus on demonstrating compliance with requirements for resilience against electromagnetic interference and lightning strikes. This aircraft will eventually head for Singapore Airlines, but it is right now dressed in plain white, rather than any airline livery.
On August 5, 2025, at 11.03 am Pacific Daylight Time, N2007L took off from Seattle’s Paine Field adjacent to the Boeing Everett Factory, completing a 2-hour 27-minute flight during which the aircraft reached a maximum altitude of 39,000ft.
This marked the first time in nearly five years the team built, prepared and flew a 777-9 airplane.
Production airplanes that are used as part of the certification of a new model type do not have the unique flight test installations of sensors and monitoring equipment as flight test airplanes. Flight test airplanes also have unique interior elements such as water barrels for tests that require different centers of gravity. Flight test airplanes must go through refurbishment to remove equipment and wiring that is installed to gather the data needed for certification and validation.
Before Boeing flies any airplane, teams complete ground checks and clear the aircraft for flight. For production airplanes joining the 777-9 test program, Boeing pilots will conduct a standard flight profile to test the airplane’s systems and structures. Boeing is working to deliver the first 777-9 in 2026.
Bottomline
Boeing appears to be edging closer to certification for the Boeing 777X family, with the OEM having constructed and flown the first new aircraft in five years, albeit for a test flight. The production model 777-9 will eventually go to Singapore Airlines, and will be focused on high-intensity radiated field (HIRF) testing. At the moment, Boeing is targeting a 2026 entry into service.
What do you think of the new Boeing 777-9 milestones achieved?
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