The official unveiling of Boeing’s 777x wide body aircraft which was scheduled for March 13 in Seattle, will be postponed for an indefinite period, the company said, following the second deadly crash within five months involving its 737 Max 8 plane.
“We will look for an opportunity to mark the new plane with the world in the near future,” as said by Boeing in a statement on Sunday night, giving emphasis to “support” Ethiopian Airlines at the moment in the wake of the tragic air accident, which claimed 157 lives.
The debut ceremony at Boeing’s Everett Factory was supposed to be attended by top executives and many honored guests, who were more-than-eager to see the presentation of the “largest and most efficient twin-engine jet in the world.”
Designed to build on the success of the 777 and 787 Dreamliner series, the plane is being assembled to replace the current generation of retiring 747 fleets. Production of the first 777X test model began in 2017, with first deliveries scheduled for next year. Once functioning, the plane is expected to sell for at least $360.5 million.
Boeing’s plans, though, were thrown into confusion on Sunday, when Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed just six minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa en route to Kenya. All 157 people on board were killed in the incident. Following the tragedy, Boeing announced that it will dispatch an investigative team to the crash site to provide technical assistance. The 737 MAX was only four-months-old when the jet allegedly demonstrated “unstable vertical speed” during its takeoff. The official cause of the crash is yet to be revealed.
Sunday’s disaster was the second recorded crash of the brand new Boeing narrow-body aircraft. In October, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 operated by Lion Air crashed minutes after taking off from Jakarta, Indonesia, killing all 189 passengers and crew. That crash is also still under investigation.
Even though the inauguration ceremony has been cancelled, the 777X’s development program will go on on-schedule, the company said.
