Boeing Bids Farewell to Final 787-8 Dreamliner Test Aircraft After 16 Years
Boeing has bid adieu to its last 787-8 Dreamliner test aircraft, known as ZA004. This marks the culmination of an impressive 16-year stint supporting the groundbreaking aircraft program. The iconic aircraft embarked on its final journey on February 11, 2026, taking off from Boeing Field in Seattle and landing at Pinal Airpark in Arizona, where it is set to enter long-term storage.
Throughout its illustrious career, ZA004 logged more than 2,250 flight hours across over 670 test sorties, and graced over 30 airports worldwide. This aircraft played a pivotal role in the certification of multiple 787 engine variants, including all configurations of the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000. In 2014, it served as Boeing’s second ecoDemonstrator, testing more than 25 technologies with the aim of enhancing fuel efficiency and minimizing emissions.
In a fitting tribute, Captain Heather Ross and Captain Craig Bomben—the same pilots who helmed ZA004’s inaugural flight on February 24, 2010—were at the controls for the final departure. “To the casual observer it looks like an old airplane, but it’s always been the future,” Ross said. At Pinal Airpark, parts from the aircraft will be repurposed for training, research, and as spare parts for the active Dreamliner fleet, which has transported over one billion passengers and established more than 520 nonstop routes worldwide.
Source: Flying Magazine