After years of delays, Boeing’s smallest 737 MAX variant, the MAX 7, has been certified by the FAA.
The agency announced Wednesday that it issued an amended type certificate and updated production limitation record for the type, which was initially expected to enter commercial service in 2019.
“The approval reflects years of sustained work to resolve complex technical issues and complete a thorough review of the airplane’s design and supporting safety analyses,” the FAA said in a news release. “Throughout the process, the FAA performed or directly reviewed significant work involving flight controls, system safety assessments, human factors, flight crew alerting, and other novel, complex, or safety-critical areas, while also requiring testing, design changes, and additional analysis where necessary.”
The agency said that, before granting approval, it required Boeing to incorporate improvements spelled out in the Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act, and in NTSB recommendations following two fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019. These enhancements included updates to the MAX 7’s flight control software and crew alerting system, and a redesigned engine anti-ice system.
The changes “provide pilots clearer information and warnings and prevent the engine inlet from overheating and potentially weakening the surrounding structure,” the FAA said.
Boeing is now authorized to begin commercial production of the aircraft. The company had not issued its own statement on the certification as of Monday afternoon.
Boeing first announced the MAX 7 in 2016, and flight testing began two years later. But plans to get the aircraft certified and delivered within 2019 fell by the wayside after the worldwide grounding of the MAX series between 2019 and 2020. Later, serious problems with the type’s engine anti-ice system emerged, requiring a complete redesign. Boeing was also stripped of its ability to self-certify aircraft during this time, which further slowed the testing and approval process.
The FAA said its inspectors will remain on site at Boeing production facilities to closely monitor the company’s manufacturing process, including its safety management system and broader safety culture.
