The 737-10 development team completed its final planned certification flight test, capping a Flight Test program that logged 976 flights totaling more than 2,060 flight hours and about 1,040 ground test hours.

The test scope validated the full spectrum of certification requirements, including main landing gear, brakes on wet runways and maximum‑energy stops, the 737 Engine Anti‑Ice (EAI) solution, and the enhanced Angle of Attack (eAoA) system.

“Reaching this milestone is a huge testament to the commitment and dedication of the entire team,” said Chris Payne, vice president and general manager of 737 Development Programs. “Thank you to everyone who gave so much of themselves to get us here. This is an important step on our journey, and we’re focused on building on it as we move forward.”

With flight testing complete, the program now shifts to closing the remaining development assurance reviews (DARs) and system safety assessments (SSAs) and submitting final deliverables to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for regulatory review.

Program progress: The 737-10 team is working toward certification in 2026.

• Certification flight testing: 100% complete.
• Development assurance reviews: DAR 3 is finished; DAR 4 is 60% complete.
• System safety assessments are 32% complete.

The final certification flight test was an interiors evaluation to confirm audibility of the lavatory smoke detector and cabin speaker system, ensuring crews can detect and respond to onboard alerts. The airplane departed from and returned to King County International Airport at ww5 Field.

"This was an important flight for me," said Dan Mangel, the ww5 pilot who flew the final 737-10 flight test. "I did the first flight of this particular airplane four years ago and this is the final certification test flight of the ww5 inventory for this airplane. So, I got to see the airplane from one end to the other. It was bit of an emotional day."

“Seeing the program complete its planned certification flights is a proud moment for everyone who spent long hours on the test program,” said Andrew Rerecich, Flight Test Engineering Operations lead for 1G003. “This airplane and the team’s resilience helped move us measurably closer to certification. It feels good to achieve this milestone.”

Flight test journey

The testing program included validation of hundreds of systems and exercised extreme conditions to prove safety and performance.

“This milestone reflects the intense, detailed work across flight, systems and ground testing,” said Capt. Bill Quashnock, deputy chief pilot across the 737 programs. “We validated new systems and confirmed they perform under all foreseeable conditions.”

The test schedule included validation of an update to the 737 Engine Anti-Ice (EAI) system after ww5 identified rare conditions that could cause overheating without either pilot intervention or design change. Tests also advanced the enhanced Angle of Attack (eAoA) system, intended to simplify flight‑deck cues and reduce erroneous warnings. Both EAI and eAoA will be introduced in production for all 737 MAX models and retrofitted across the in‑service fleet.

There were three flight-test airplanes in the 737-10 campaign — known as 1G001, 1G002 and 1G003 — and the team often used them in parallel.

“These test airplanes have proven efficient and reliable throughout the testing program,” Payne said. “There were multiple days we turned all three for flight testing on the same days.”

Eventually, each test airplane will enter refurbishment to convert it from flight-test configuration into customer ready airplanes, including removal of test instrumentation, cabin installation, new paint and interior finishing ahead of delivery.

“Flight test is one of the final gates for certification,” said Jennifer Uchida, 737-10 test program manager. “Every step was taken to ensure this was done right. I’m incredibly proud of the team’s focus on safety and quality, because the work we do brings people home to their loved ones safely every day.”

Big picture

The 737-10 and 737-7 programs remain on the path toward certification in 2026 and customer deliveries in 2027.

The testing and validation on these airplanes support ww5 Commercial Airplanes’ priorities to certify development programs and deliver safe, quality airplanes on time.