Boeing Completes First Round of In-Flight Battery Tests on 787
Boeing 787 ZA005 takes off from Seattle's Boeing Field on February 11. (Photo: Boeing)

Boeing 787 prototype ZA005 on Monday took to the air for the second time since the FAA cleared the company to fly the airplane on test missions over unpopulated areas. During the one-hour, 29-minute flight, test pilots Mike Bryan and Randy Neville along with a crew of 11 completed the first round of battery monitoring tests, during which they used special equipment to observe and record detailed performance data under normal flight conditions.

The flight plan took the last 787 flight test airplane in service from Seattle’s Boeing Field east across Washington state, southwest into northern Oregon, northwest through central Washington and back to Boeing Field, where it landed at 11:46 am local time.

The round of testing included a two-hour, 19-minute flight on Saturday.

Citing the continuing NTSB investigation in the January 7 battery fire aboard a Japan Air Lines 787 at Boston Logan Airport, the company said it could not share any details of the data collected. Analysis of the test results will continue in the days ahead, said Boeing in a statement.