• 787-8 Dreamliner
    Boeing
    Stock Code:
    BA
    Date Founded:
    1916-07-15
    CEO:
    Dave Calhoun
    Headquarters Location:
    Chicago, USA
    Key Product Lines:
    Boeing 737, Boeing 747, Boeing 757, Boeing 767, Boeing 777, Boeing 787
    Business Type:
    Planemaker

The 777X has taken off for the first time in two months after Boeing and GE worked on issues regarding the GE9X engine reported last month. N779XW has been flying since December 17th and has completed three days of testing from its base in Seattle. Let's find out more.

A return to the skies

First spotted by FlightGlobal, the test program for the 777-9 has officially resumed. The first flight occurred on December 17th, with N779XW taking off from Boeing Field (BFI) in Seattle and spending nearly 1 hour and 40 minutes over Washington and Montana before returning to BFI. Since then, the plane has been busy, flying again on December 19th and then moving to Spokane Airport (GEG) on the 21st for further tests.

Screenshot 2022-12-22 at 10.19.35
Map: FlightRadar24.com

In a statement to FlightGlobal, Boeing said,

"We have resumed airplane testing following our comprehensive safety process and appropriate mitigations while our supplier and technical teams continue their work. We’re supporting GE Aerospace as they continue to assess a recent GE9X engine issue."

Currently, the other three test 777Xs have not been reactivated, with the last one flying in November 2021 and the latest in August. So what went wrong with the program?

Get all the latest aviation news right here on Simple Flying

Temperature sensor triggered

In late November, Emirates CEO Tim Clark revealed that 777-9 flight tests had been halted due to engine issues, news later confirmed by GE as well. This was another blow to the widebody, which has already been pushed back to at least 2025 before making a customer appearance.

Since then, GE has gone into depth about what went wrong with one of the engines, saying,

"We had a finding during a borescope inspection of a flight-test engine and decided with Boeing to remove the engine and send it to our test facility in Peebles, Ohio for engineering test runs. During these runs, a temperature alert was observed and the operator shut the engine down normally.”

GE noted that the issue occurred on one of its longest-used engines, carrying 2,600 flight cycles and over 1,700 hours of run time. However, any engine anomaly must be tested rigorously and ironed out before the plane can return to the skies, much less receive regulatory approval for commercial operations. While it seems the issue hasn't been solved just yet, progress has been made to allow test flights to resume once more.

Get the latest aviation news straight to your inbox: Sign up for our newsletters today.

Could the delivery date slip?

One vocal critic of Boeing in recent months has been one of its largest customers, Emirates. CEO Tim Clark has been outspoken about delays to the 777X, which has forced the carrier to keep aging 777s and A380s in the fleet beyond the anticipated replacement. Now, Clark fears that Boeing's timeline of a first-quarter 2025 delivery could be slipping away again.

In November, he said,

“The July 2025 delivery date we estimate is something I said, not Boeing. They said they want to deliver by the end of 2024 or first quarter of 2025. I said judging by their performance today, we make that July 2025. And Boeing Commercial CEO Stan Deal agreed.”

While this is the last outcome anyone is hoping for, the FAA's increased scrutiny of the 777X approval process means that delays are very likely. For now, the journey of the 777-9 continues on, despite some speed bumps.

What do you think about the 777X's future? Let us know in the comments.

Source: FlightGlobal