Boeing’s next-generation 777X wide-body jet completed its first flight today, providing a boost to the embattled company amid the 737 MAX crisis — and drawing rave reviews from its pilots.
The plane took off from Paine Field in Everett, Wash., next to Boeing’s wide-body jet assembly plant, headed eastward over Washington state and featured several rounds of maneuvers, including a photo op near Mount Rainier.
“It was awesome,” 777X chief test pilot Van Chaney told reporters at Seattle’s Boeing Field, where the nearly four-hour flight test ended at 2 p.m. PT.
