The Federal Aviation Administration announced it will reinstate limited authorization to Boeing for issuing airworthiness certificates for some 737 MAX and 787 Dreamliner aircraft – meaning the OEM will be able to expedite deliveries of those commercial jets to customers.
Airworthiness is the regulator’s stamp of approval, certifying that a commercial jet has been declared safe to operate. Historically, FAA allowed OEM’s to conduct the inspections and declare the airworthiness of a jet, to streamline the completion of orders.
FAA resumed control over Boeing’s authorization of airworthiness for 737 MAX jets in 2019 as a consequence of its inquiry into two crashes in 2018 and 2019, which killed 346. It withdrew authorization authority for the 787 jets in 2022 following a series of structural problems revealed by regular safety inspections.
According to a current FAA statement, restoring the certification authority “follows a thorough review of Boeing’s ongoing production quality and will allow our inspectors to focus additional surveillance in the production process.”
It added that it will continue to maintain “direct and rigorous oversight of Boeing's production processes.”
Still, the latest move may be interpreted as another step on the way to Boeing gaining FAA approval to increase its 737 MAX production rate – a critical metric for Boeing’s revenue, but one that the agency has blocked as part of its oversight of manufacturing operation at Boeing, to ensure the organization maintains its safety practices.
Earlier in September FAA issued fines totaling $3,139,319 against Boeing for safety violations in the months surrounding the midair failure of a sidedoor plug aboard an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX jet.
In May, FAA renewed Boeing Organization Designation Authorization, meaning the manufacturer may perform approved functions on behalf of the FAA, e.g., certifying aircraft design changes or approving repair data.
Boeing has a backlog of nearly 6,800 orders for its 737 MAX aircraft, and does not collect full payment until the finished aircraft is delivered. FAA has been onsite in Renton, Wash., since February 2024, monitoring production of the twin-engine narrow-body jets following the Alaska Airlines flight, and preventing Boeing from increasing the production rate above 38 aircraft per month.
