Federal aviation regulators have given Boeing the green light to move its troubled 777-9 aircraft into the fourth phase of certification testing, according to a Wednesday report from the Air Current citing sources with knowledge of the matter.
The development follows comments made Tuesday by Boeing’s Chief Financial Officer Jay Malave at an investor conference, where he confirmed the company had received clearance for the third certification phase.
“There are two more that we need to get approval for, and we’re waiting for the next one very shortly here,” Malave said.
The 777-9 represents the initial variant of Boeing’s troubled 777X aircraft family, a program that has cost the aerospace manufacturer $15 billion in development charges and is running six years past its original timeline.
The new 777X series is designed to replace Boeing’s 747 and 777 models and will join the 787 Dreamliner as part of the company’s wide-body aircraft offerings for international routes.
