All news

Maiden flight of new Boeing 777X postponed amid high winds

Company spokespersons cited high winds as the reason for the delay

NEW YORK, January 25. /TASS/. The test flight of the Boeing 777X passenger plane has been postponed due to unfavorable weather conditions, the company said on its website.

The takeoff was initially scheduled to take place at 10:00 EST (21:00 Moscow time). However, the aircraft had to return to its hangar after spending more than two hours on the runway.

Company spokespersons cited high winds as the reason for the delay.

The plane will make another attempt to take off on Saturday.

Last July, Boeing had to postpone the flight tests of the 777X aircraft until early 2020 because of engine design issues. Initially, the aircraft was supposed to make its first flight in the fall of 2019, with first deliveries to contractors due in 2020.

Boeing has been going through tough times amid problems with its Boeing 737 MAX. In December 2019, the company had to suspend the production after it was established that the two Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, lost in deadly crashes on October 29, 2018 in Indonesia and on March 10, 2019 in Ethiopia, suffered from problems with the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS). After the two accidents, which claimed the lives of almost 350 people in total, many countries, including Russia, the United States and the European Union, temporarily suspended flights of those planes.