Congress Gives Boeing Clearance for 737 Max Certification

The 737 MAX 7 and 10 have been approved to proceed towards entry and return into service.

Tuesday, December 20, 2022 at 01:38 PM ET

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The bill gives Boeing three years after certification of the MAX 10 to retrofit all models of the MAX jets with the safety enhancements. [Credit: Boeing]

Key Takeaways:

Congressional leaders have approved a waiver for Boeing, allowing its 737 Max 7 and 10 jets to be certified without the new modern cockpit alerting systems mandated by a December 27, 2022 deadline.
The agreement stipulates that Boeing must retrofit all Max models (7, 8, 9, and 10) with safety enhancements within three years of the Max 10's certification, with Boeing covering all costs.
This decision prevents billions in potential losses and job cuts for Boeing, overriding safety reforms enacted after two fatal 737 Max crashes linked to the aircraft's MCAS system.
The waiver has elicited mixed responses from pilot unions and strong criticism from families of victims of the previous Max accidents, who accuse Congress of prioritizing Boeing's profits over safety.

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Congressional leaders have agreed to give the Boeing Company [NYSE:BA] clearance for the new certification of its 737 Max 7 and 10 jets without further changes. The agreement, reached early Tuesday morning, came through an amendment of an end-of-the year government spending bill.

As previously reported in FLYING, after December 27, 2022, all airplanes must have modern cockpit alerting systems to be certified by the FAA.