The Fifth 777-9 Takes to the Air

The fifth Boeing 777-9 constructed in Washington successfully departed from Paine Field in Everett, Washington, on Tuesday at 11:03 a.m. This event signifies progress in the company's widebody program as the team aims to deliver the first aircraft in 2026.

The flight marked the first time in nearly five years that the team built, prepared, and piloted a 777-9 aircraft on its maiden voyage. Capt. Ted Grady, the 777X chief pilot, and Capt. Mark Brown, the 777-9 project pilot, successfully conducted a 2-hour and 27-minute flight to evaluate the aircraft's handling and performance.

During the flight, Grady and Brown navigated a route over Washington, reaching an altitude of 39,000 feet and an airspeed of Mach 0.84, which is typical for an inaugural flight. Accompanying them were systems operators Zach Lewis and Joel Conard, as well as flight analysts Cody Bruinsma and Mike Deutsch.

The aircraft returned to Paine Field as scheduled at 1:30 p.m. “The 777-9 flies beautifully, and this aircraft performed just as we expected,” Grady said. “We appreciate the hard work of our coworkers who designed, built and prepared this aircraft for flight. Together, we are going to get the 777-9 certified and in our customers’ fleets.”

Michael Kellner coordinated across Engineering disciplines to support production teams as they completed the aircraft and prepared it for flight. “We care for these aeroplanes; we even view them as our kids,” said Kellner, who joined Boeing as an Engineering intern over 16 years ago and serves as the Engineering ship captain for this aeroplane. “We’ve invested a lot of time, energy and hard work to ready this aeroplane and bring us one step closer to delivering the 777-9. It’s just an immense surge of pride and excitement to see our aeroplane take flight.”

The aircraft will now undergo a series of ground and flight tests to demonstrate compliance with requirements for resilience against electromagnetic interference and lightning strikes.

The team has recently exceeded 4,000 hours of flight testing with the dedicated 777-9 test fleet, conducting a range of tests and conditions to validate the safety and reliability of the aircraft's design. The 777X family, which includes the 777-9, the 777-8 Freighter, and the 777-8 passenger aircraft, represents the latest additions to Boeing's leading widebody family.