CHICAGO (AP) -- Boeing Co. says it has finished a key phase of testing for the new passenger version of its big 747, and the plane could make its first flight as soon as Sunday.
The first test plane went through two days of simulations of its first flight. Boeing said the so-called "gauntlet testing" wrapped up late Sunday. On Monday it said the first flight of the new 747-8 Intercontinental will happen after final review of the plane's readiness to fly, taxi testing and receipt of documentation from the Federal Aviation Administration. The first flight could be delayed if the weather doesn't cooperate.
The cargo version of the new plane has been in flight tests for about a year. The passenger version will carry up to 467 people.