Lawmakers refuse to grant Boeing extension for 737 MAX 7 and MAX 10 certification, for now

As reported by David Shepardson for Reuters, United States lawmakers late yesterday refused to approve a deadline extension that would allow Boeing to move forward with the approval process for the 737 MAX 7 and MAX 10 variants beyond 1 January 2023.

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The Aircraft Certification, Safety and Accountability Act (ACSAA), which will tighten the conditions required to obtain a type certificate for a new aircraft, will come into force from the first day of next year.

The new regulations, passed in 2020, came in response to the controversy surrounding the nature of the process that previously allowed the approval of the 737 MAX 8 and MAX 9, the only ones currently in commercial operation.

For this reason, the manufacturer has been trying over the past few months to convince parliamentarians to grant an extension to the deadline. Otherwise, Boeing would have to redesign both variants to meet the new requirements.

Last week, Senator Maria Elaine Cantwell introduced a bill that would ease the way for both aircraft to enter service without the changes currently required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), albeit with conditions.

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However, it is not yet certain that the proposal will move forward. The extension is being debated in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. So far, lawmakers have not been overwhelmingly in favour of Boeing’s position.

Failure to grant the exemption would mean new problems for the 737 MAX programme, which could even lead to its cancellation. However, Shepardson remarked that there is still «a small chance» that the project could be modified before final approval.

What will become of the 737 MAX 7 and MAX 10 variants?

In the current context, a Congressional amendment would be the only alternative that would allow Boeing to obtain certification of the MAX 7 and MAX 10 variants with the current crew warning systems.

One way or the other, the stakes of this decision are high for the manufacturer. If it obtains a deadline extension, it could finally achieve certification of the remaining 737 MAXs. If not, the manufacturer would have to redesign them to meet the new requirements or even cancel both variants. Despite the ups and downs of the process, and despite the still uncertain future of two of its variants, Boeing continues to find interested customers for the 737 MAX.

See also: Europe: EASA may require safety modifications for the Boeing 737 MAX 7 and MAX 10