Boeing may finally be seeing a light at the end of the tunnel amid the vicissitudes of the certification process for the 737 MAX 7 and MAX 10 variants.
According to an article by Dominic Gates for The Seattle Times, Senator Maria Elaine Cantwell introduced a bill yesterday that would ease the way for both aircraft to enter service without the changes currently demanded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), albeit with conditions.
The legislative amendment would remove the deadline stipulated in a law passed in 2020. This would require the manufacturer to substantially change the crew warning systems on both variants. At the time, the provision came in response to controversy surrounding the nature of the process that previously allowed for the approval of the 737 MAX 8 and MAX 9, which are currently operating commercially.
As Gates reported, the Democratic senator explained that her amendment also includes conditions that would require the adoption of safety improvements on aircraft already in service. However, the main proposal in the bill is likely to be the elimination of the current certification deadline of 31 December this year.
Cantwell had previously stated that she would accept «whatever the Federal Aviation Administration deems safest».
The Washington representative in the upper chamber of the Unied States Congress said the amendment sets no deadline for certification and requires retrofits to be completed within two to three years. She also clarified that «safety should be the goal, not a date».
The proposal document calls for changes such as «improving the angle of attack and retrofitting a switch that would allow the crew to silence an erroneous stick shaker (stall warning), for all MAX aircraft», according to Reuters. The amendment stipulates that Boeing should bear the cost of the changes for 737 MAXs currently in service.
What will become of the 737 MAX 7 and MAX 10 variants?
In this 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 warning systems. However, it is not yet clear that Cantwell’s proposal will become law. The extension is being debated in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
One way or the other, the stakes of this decision are high for Boeing. If it gets 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 in spite of the still uncertain future of two of its variants, Boeing continues to find interested customers for the 737 MAX.
See also: FAA asks Boeing to review and complete documents submitted to achieve 737 MAX 7 certification
