The flight pattern of a Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 created an airplane shape on Aug. 3. (William Neff/The Washington Post)
On Wednesday afternoon, a Boeing 787-800 Dreamliner took off from Seattle and flew about 2,000 miles to Marquette, Mich. It would have seemed an inconsequential flight — if not an odd city pairing — had the plane not turned back immediately and begun cruising southwest.
Just after reaching the tip of South Dakota, the Dreamliner banked right again, doing a seemingly random tour of the state’s airspace before turning south and veering into Nebraska.
What in the world was this plane doing?
The answer would become clearer after the Dreamliner had flown several more hours. It was then that flight-tracking apps showed exactly what the pilot was up to: Drawing a giant outline of itself over the United States.
On social media, people pondered the reasons for the amusing flight pattern: Was it a test flight? Stealth advertising for the Dreamliner? A gratuitous use of fuel? Perhaps the pilot was drunk, one person joked.
“Looks more like an Airbus to me,” another Twitter user commented. It was unclear if he was being serious.
Just after reaching the tip of South Dakota, the Dreamliner banked right again, doing a seemingly random tour of the state’s airspace before turning south and veering into Nebraska.
What in the world was this plane doing?
The answer would become clearer after the Dreamliner had flown several more hours. It was then that flight-tracking apps showed exactly what the pilot was up to: Drawing a giant outline of itself over the United States.
On social media, people pondered the reasons for the amusing flight pattern: Was it a test flight? Stealth advertising for the Dreamliner? A gratuitous use of fuel? Perhaps the pilot was drunk, one person joked.
“Looks more like an Airbus to me,” another Twitter user commented. It was unclear if he was being serious.
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