Boeing Co. successfully staged the first flight of the world's largest twin-engine jetliner on Saturday, a respite from the crisis over its smallest model, the grounded 737 Max.
The 777X, a larger version of the 777 mini-jumbo, touched down at the historic Boeing Field outside Seattle at 2 p.m. after a debut that began almost four hours earlier at Boeing's revamped wide-body assembly lines north of the city.
The decision to take advantage of a gap in clouds to start the months of testing needed before the jet can carry passengers came after two attempts had to be postponed due to high winds.