Boeing in ‘final stages’ of 737 Max 7 and 10 certifications

The manufacturer expects the Max 7’s approval will come first, followed in ‘close proximity” to the Max 10’s.

Boeing’s chief executive insists the company is closing in on certification of the 737 Max 7 and Max 10, while a new report says the manufacturer could secure approval for the Max 7 as soon as this summer.

Reuters reported the summer timeframe for the Max 7, the smallest variant of the narrowbody aircraft family, citing comments by Federal Aviation Administration head Bryan Bedford. The 27 May report said the FAA expects to approve the Max 10, the largest Max variant, before year-end.

Also on 27 May, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said the Max 7 and Max 10 certification programmes are in “final stages”, adding, “There’s clearly light at the end of the tunnel here”.

Ortberg, who spoke during an investor conference hosted by financial firm Bernstein, was not more specific. Neither Boeing nor the FAA immediately responds to requests for comment.

Ortberg adds that Boeing has completed “roughly 80%” of the Max 7 and 10 certification flight-test programmes and has received all required FAA flight-test approvals.

“We don’t need any more TIA approvals from the FAA,” Ortberg says, referencing FAA-issued Type Inspection Authorizations – approvals that confirm an aircraft type will likely meet certification standards and that approve flight tests for certification credit.

“It’s just a matter of getting through that flight-test programme, and we’re clicking them off as we speak,” Ortberg says.

He confirms Boeing expects to receive the Max 7’s approval first, followed by that for the Max 10, which requires a more-involved certification programme owing to design differences specific to that model.

“There’s no question the Dash 10 [certification] work is a bigger package than our Dash 7,” Ortberg says, adding that the approvals will likely come in “close proximity”.

The Max 10 measures 43.8m (143.7ft) long – about 1.6m longer than the next largest variant, the Max 9, a difference necessitating a longer main landing gear to prevent tail strikes during take-off.

Boeing achieved the extension with a “semi-levered” main gear for the Max 10. The lever allows the gear to extend 241mm (9.5in) upon rotation during take-off.

The Max 10’s main gear also has a steel “shrink link” that pulls the inner cylinder closed as the gear retracts, enabling it to fit in the same wheel well.

Ortberg also says Boeing has completed “all the testing” of an engine anti-ice system redesign that had been holding up the Max 7 and Max 10’s certifications.

Boeing initiated the redesign because the original anti-ice system can cause engine inlet inner barrels to overheat and possibly fail. The company revealed the issue in 2023.

In-service 737 Max 8s and 9s have the same troubled engine anti-ice system but were certificated before the issue became known and can therefore continue flying. The FAA addressed the risk in those types by ordering airlines to instruct pilots not to use the system unless they are in icing or expect to be.

Boeing will introduce the anti-ice redesign on new-build Max 8s, Ortberg says. It also plans to equip new Max 9s and in-service -8s and -9s with the changes.