The Federal Aviation Administration issued an amended type certificate for the Boeing $BA 737 Max 7 on Monday, clearing the smallest variant in the Max family for production and eventual passenger service after almost a decade of review.
The approval requires Boeing to incorporate updates to flight-control software, crew alerting systems, and an engine anti-ice system
The Federal Aviation Administration issued an amended type certificate for the Boeing $BA 737 Max 7 on Monday, clearing the smallest variant in the Max family for production and eventual passenger service after almost a decade of review.
The certification also includes an updated Production Limitation Record that authorizes Boeing to begin manufacturing the aircraft, the FAA said. Before granting approval, the agency required Boeing to make several design changes, including updates to the flight-control software, the flightcrew alerting system, and a redesigned engine anti-ice system. The FAA said those changes give pilots clearer warnings and prevent engine inlets from overheating in a way that could weaken surrounding structure.
The agency said FAA safety inspectors will remain on site at Boeing production facilities to monitor the manufacturing process, including Boeing's Safety Management System and safety culture.
Boeing stock rose more than 5% in afternoon trading Monday. Boeing did not comment, according to CNBC.
Southwest Airlines and other carriers had been counting on putting the Max 7 into service before the pandemic hit. Certification was repeatedly set back by increased regulatory scrutiny following the fatal crashes of the in-service Max 8 in 2018 and 2019, subsequent manufacturing quality problems, and the need to redesign the engine anti-icing system. A total of 346 people died in the two Max 8 accidents, according to CNBC.
Once a plane receives certification, airlines can put it into passenger service fairly quickly, though integrating a new aircraft type into existing route networks typically takes several months.
Two other Boeing programs remain in the FAA's certification queue: the 737 Max 10, which would be the biggest member of the narrowbody Max line, and the wide-body 777X.
The Max 7 certification comes as Boeing has been working to ramp up 737 Max output to 47 aircraft per month and has opened a fourth final assembly line in Everett, Washington. Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg has said the company aims to reach 52 jets per month next year, with the Everett facility focused on the Max 10 from the outset.
Boeing's output had been capped by the FAA starting in January 2024, after a door plug separated from an Alaska Airlines 737 Max in flight, bringing manufacturing quality issues to light. The FAA lifted its production cap last October, and in mid-July the agency handed back to Boeing the authority to certify completed Max jets and 787 Dreamliners as airworthy — a power regulators had revoked in the wake of the Max 8 disasters.
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