FAA Certifies Boeing 737 MAX 7 After Extended Safety Review

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued an amended type certificate for the Boeing 737 MAX 7, completing nearly a decade of certification work and authorizing Boeing to begin production of the aircraft.

The approval follows an extensive technical review covering flight controls, system safety assessments, human factors, flightcrew alerting systems and other safety-critical design elements. Throughout the certification process, the FAA required additional testing, design modifications and safety analyses before determining the aircraft met all applicable certification requirements.

As part of the approval, Boeing incorporated several safety enhancements required under the Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act and recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). These include updated flight-control software, an enhanced flightcrew alerting system and a redesigned engine anti-ice system intended to prevent engine inlet overheating and provide pilots with clearer operational warnings.

The FAA also updated the aircraft’s Production Limitation Record, allowing Boeing to begin manufacturing the 737 MAX 7. The agency said safety inspectors will continue to be stationed at Boeing production facilities to oversee manufacturing quality, monitor the company’s Safety Management System and assess its overall safety culture.