787s back in the air after fire-caused delay
Published 12:01 am Friday, January 7, 2011
The Boeing Co.’s 787 program started 2011 with a flurry of flight activity after nearly two months on the ground.
Boeing’s 787 test planes remained parked for most of November and December after an electrical fire broke out Nov. 9 during a flight over Texas. The company spent six weeks finding the cause of the fire and coming up with a fix. On Dec. 23, Boeing said it would put its fourth 787 back in the air with updated software.
None of the 787s flew again until Monday. Since then, the original 787 has joined the fourth test plane in flight after receiving new software. The first Dreamliner logged in nearly three hours Wednesday and a five-hour flight Thursday, traveling from Boeing Field down along the Washington and Oregon coastlines into northern California before returning to Seattle.
The fourth 787 headed to Yuma, Ariz., on Wednesday and made two short flights in the Yuma area Thursday.
Boeing’s recent 787 activity does not count toward the certification flight tests required by the Federal Aviation Administration to receive approval for the Dreamliner to fly commercially. The flights this week, however, signal that Boeing is moving closer to resuming certification testing.
Lori Gunter, a Boeing spokeswoman, said in an e-mail that the Dec. 23 flight went “fine” but declined to comment further. Boeing has not provided an updated delivery schedule for its 787, which is already nearly three years late. Boeing is expected to give its commercial airplanes delivery forecast for 2011 during its 2010 earnings report on Jan. 26.
