By David Shepardson
FARNBOROUGH, England, July 20 (Reuters) – A senior Federal Aviation Administration official said on Monday that the agency expects to certify the Boeing 737 MAX 7 and larger 10 soon, after an intensive review of the variants of the best-selling plane.
“Closer than ever before,” Deputy FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the Farnborough Air Show. “I think the -7 is literally around the corner, and -10 right behind it.”
He also said he expects the Boeing 777X to be certified after the two MAX planes.
“Whether it’s this year or earlier next year… we’re kind of letting Boeing drive that when they bring us the right information and we work through it together.”
Boeing said last week it is in the final stages of getting regulatory certification for an engine anti-ice system fix for its 737 MAX jetliner.
Boeing has already built about 30 MAX 7s and nine MAX 10s, which are awaiting delivery, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. The MAX 10 accounts for at least 28% of outstanding MAX orders.
Certification of the MAX 7 and 10 is years behind schedule.
Boeing has faced a more stringent certification process following two fatal MAX 8 crashes in 2018 and 2019, as well as scrutiny of the company’s production and quality systems after a January 2024 mid-air cabin panel blowout on a nearly new Alaska Airlines MAX 9.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford told Reuters last week the FAA and Boeing have improved work on certifying new planes.
“A lot of our difficulties timely responding to Boeing wasn’t a resource challenge on the FAA. It was the fact that Boeing kept changing its priorities,” he said.
Bedford said the FAA’s workflows on Boeing certification have risen 35% to 40%.
“Boeing has a much more clear line of sight on how we can respond to their certification needs,” Bedford said.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Sharon Singleton)
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