Oklahoma crew put Boeing 777-9 through extreme tests to see how far its brakes will go
Published on Sep 08, 2025 at 5:05 AM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on Sep 08, 2025 at 8:44 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
A Boeing 777-9 recently underwent a series of brake tests under extreme conditions in Oklahoma to gain vital safety certification.
This series of tests was conducted for Boeing’s new widebody airplane.
They required a specific set of weather conditions, but in practice, that proved harder than expected.
However, the team didn’t give up and continued through fierce winds and torrential hail.
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The Boeing 777-9 was hit with extreme weather conditions during tests
As you may have expected, a lot of time, energy, and money are put into ensuring planes are safe to operate.
That includes rigorous testing, like the minimum unstick test – a required part of certification that proves the jet can safely lift off even if the tail strikes the ground.
Or the landing performance and brakes testing, which you can see in action in the clip above.
The team in Oklahoma needed to test the brakes and wheels of the Boeing 777-9 in ‘dry conditions’ and subject the plane to ‘hard braking to demonstrate performance for certification credit’.
“We test these extremes so that we know where the boundaries are for the airplane, and we make sure that the airplane meets our expectations and the expectations of the regulator,” 777-9 project pilot Heather Ross said.
Now, while that might sound fairly straightforward – if not more than a little bit nerve-racking – it seems the Oklahoma weather had other ideas.
Instead of the calm winds and dry runways the team hoped for, they were met with hig winds and hail.
On two occasions, the weather was so bad that the team had to fly the Boeing 777-9 elsewhere to avoid hail damage.
However, they pushed on with their plans and got the job done.
“This team never gave up,” 777-9 vice president and general manager Terry Beezhold said.
“One day, they waited at the end of the runway for four hours for the winds to calm enough to complete just one test condition.
“They demonstrated impressive resolve and tenacity as they fought for every test point. I am so proud of this team and what they accomplished.”
What’s next for the 777-9?
Overall, the testing, which kicked off in March, took 63 days.
This is more than double how long the team had expected it to take, and meant testing didn’t wrap up until May.
Next up for the Boeing 777-9 there’s even more testing, including ‘simulating ice formations on the airplane’s wings and other surfaces, as well as evaluating braking performance on wet runways’.
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Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Claire covers a wide variety of topics, with a special focus on cars, technology, planes, cryptocurrency, and luxury.
