Speakers Bio

Dennis O’Donoghue, an experimental test pilot, is Vice President of Flight Operations, Test and Validation for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. In this role, he is responsible for all flight operations, including flight training, flight technical support, flight standards, and experimental and production test flight operations as well as being responsible for the test and validation of all Boeing commercial airplanes and those Integrated Defense Systems products that use commercial airplanes as platforms.

O’Donoghue leads an organization of approximately 3,800 engineers, pilots, mechanics, and technicians. The group is responsible for certifying new Boeing airplanes, enhancing existing models and providing flight crew products and services to Boeing customers in support of their flight operations. In addition, O’Donoghue is responsible for numerous test organizations including Test Engineering, Test Programs Integration & Execution, and Test Manufacturing & Quality Operations.

O’Donoghue’s first Boeing assignment was in 1996 as the chief test pilot of the X-32B STOVL Joint Strike Fighter program. In this role, he was heavily involved in all aspects of design, development, and flight test of both the X-32A and X-32B. During the summer of 2001, he commanded the first flight and flew the first hovers, and first vertical landings of the X-32B. Subsequent to the JSF program, he was assigned as deputy project pilot for the Sonic Cruiser and the 7E7/787 programs. In this capacity, he was involved in all aspects of the design of the aircraft, with particular emphasis on development, simulation and validation of flight controls and the pilot-vehicle interface. In November 2004, he was promoted to Chief Pilot, Production Test Operations, with responsibility for production flight test of all Boeing transport category aircraft.

O’Donoghue left Boeing in July 2005 to serve as Director of Flight Operations and Chief Test Pilot of the Eclipse 500 Very Light Jet (VLJ) program at Eclipse Aviation Corporation. On his return to Boeing in July 2006, he briefly served as Vice President of Flight Operations for Commercial Airplanes before assuming his present responsibilities.

Prior to his Boeing career, O’Donoghue was a NASA research test pilot at Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio. He conducted exploratory flight tests, airborne science projects, and space support missions on a various aircraft platforms including the DC-9, DHC-6, G-159, Lear 25, OV-10, T-34, and YAV-8B Harrier.

O’Donoghue’s military experience included 12 years of active duty as a U.S. Marine Corps fighter pilot and test pilot. He flew operational missions in the A-4M, AV-8A and AV-8B Harrier aircraft, and engineering flight tests on the AV-8B and F-14 Tomcat. In 1994, O’Donoghue transferred to the U.S. Air Force Reserve where he flew the C-130, C-141, and C-17. He commanded both the 728th Airlift Squadron and the 446 Airlift Wing, stationed at McChord AFB, Wash. He retired from the Air Force Reserve in September 2005 at the rank of Colonel.

O’Donoghue holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the United States Naval Academy, a Master of Science in Aviation Systems from the University of Tennessee Space Institute, and an MBA from the University of Washington. He is a graduate of the U.S. Navy Test Pilot School, a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots. He has logged over 6,000 hours in 74 different aircraft.