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The Federal Aviation Administration on March 17 cleared Boeing to continue advancing its long-delayed 777-9 into the fourth phase of certification testing, according to two people familiar with the milestone. The plane maker can now begin Phase 4A out of five total phases of its Type Inspection Authorization, signaling another set of aircraft systems are now ready for air and ground evaluations to demonstrate compliance with U.S. aviation regulations. Jay Malave, Boeing’s CFO, said at an investor conference earlier that day that the company expected approval to begin Phase 4A “very shortly here.”
Following The Air Current’s initial report Boeing confirmed it had been granted approval by the FAA to begin Phase 4A.
Related: Boeing gets FAA nod to begin next major phase of 777X certification trials
TIA 4 is split into two sections, 4A and 4B, that together account for roughly the volume of tests as the earlier Phase 3, which began in November 2025. Phases can run concurrently across multiple aircraft and clearance to start a new phase does not require completion of earlier phases. Phase 5 is expected to be a limited series of tests and will be followed by Extended Operations (ETOPS) and system functionality and reliability (F&R) validations, which requires a delivery-ready aircraft.
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