Boeing’s 787 Dream Tour made its way to an improbable destination on Monday — Washington’s Reagan National Airport — a field that will almost certainly never see scheduled 787 service due to its size constraints.
After a very short flight from Dulles International, Flight 787 floated over a few planespotters at the famous Gravelly Point Park before setting down on DCA’s 7,169 ft Runway 19.
To the best of our knowledge, the Boeing 787-8 (N787BX) became the second largest plane ever to land at DCA, smaller only than a United Airlines DC-10 that made an emergency landing there in 1998. Also, the 787 was only the third widebody aircraft type ever to land at DCA and marked only the seventh time any widebody aircraft had landed at the airport.
- Apr. 16, 1998: United Airlines DC-10 emergency landing due to bad weather at BWI and IAD
- Dec. 8, 2008: Delta Boeing 767-300 proving run from Atlanta
- Jan. 20-21, 2009: Delta subs 767-300s on four ATL-DCA flights to add capacity for inauguration of President Obama
- May 7, 2012: Boeing 787 arrives on Dream Tour visit
It also marks the shortest runway the 787 Dream Tour has visited.
The 787 will be on display at Reagan National until Friday, but access to the plane will be invite only.
(Video by Boeing)
