Boeing Says Goodbye To It’s Last 787-8 Dreamliner Test Airplane After More Than 16 Years In Service
- The plane's final resting place will be the Pinal Airpark in Marana, Arizona, where it will be stripped for spare parts.
Boeing has just waved goodbye to its last 787-8 Dreamliner test aircraft after more than 16 years in service. During its life, the airplane was pushed well beyond the limits any normal 787 will encounter, helping to establish the performance, safety, and maintenance standards for the popular widebody aircraft.
Known by the registration code ZA004, the aircraft was the third Boeing 787-8 to join the Dreamliner test program when it took its maiden flight on February 24, 2010 (yes, it joined the test program before ZA003).
Over the last 16 years, the aircraft has completed more than 670 test flights and clocked around 2,250 flight hours – reaching a milestone that few other test airplanes have ever reached.
Unfortunately, the airplane is fast reaching a maintenance threshold that would require a lot of work, and Boeing has decided it’s no longer cost-effective to carry out this maintenance, given the maturity of the test fleet.
“To the casual observer, it looks like an old airplane, but it’s always been the future,” commented Capt. Heather Ross, the airplane’s first chief project pilot, who also happened to be at the controls of the plane for its last-ever takeoff from Boeing Field in Seattle.
During its time with the Boeing Company, ZA004 happened to perform the 1000th Dreamliner flight in 2011, served as Boeing’s ecoDemonstator in 2014 to test myriad technologies to improve efficiency and reduce emissions, and as recently as 2025, the aircraft was used in the certification of all Rolls‑Royce 787 Trent 1000 XE engines.
The aircraft also has another claim to fame as it flew the first flight to validate upgrades to the airplane’s power distribution system, after an in-flight electrical incident put the brakes on early test flights.
Since taking off from Boeing Field for the last time on February 4, the plane headed to Pinal Airpark in Marana, Arizona, where it will end its days.
While some parts of the plane will be used for continuing research and development, other parts will be reclaimed as spares and distributed to airlines in need.
“Test airplanes, like ZA004, don’t just prove what’s possible. They make the future real by translating design concepts into everyday safety, efficiency, and capability,” commented John Murphy, the 787 program’s chief project engineer.
“ZA004’s legacy lives on in every 787 Dreamliner flying today and those yet to be delivered.”
