FAA restores Boeing role in 737 Max and 787 delivery approvals
The FAA said eight months of reviews showed similar production-quality findings whether Boeing or federal officials issued aircraft certificates.
By Maya Lindqvist · Senior Technology Correspondent
2 min read
The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday that Boeing may again issue airworthiness certificates for 737 Max jets and 787 Dreamliners, returning an approval role the regulator had taken away after two fatal Max crashes. The decision affects the final signoff process before those aircraft are delivered to customers, according to the FAA.
The FAA said it based the move on results from a limited return of the work that began last September. Under that arrangement, Boeing could issue certificates for some Max and Dreamliner aircraft while the FAA handled the task in alternating weeks, CNBC reported.
“During the past eight months, the FAA has seen comparable production quality findings when Boeing issued airworthiness certificates and when the FAA issued them,” the agency said Friday. “Based on these results, the FAA determined it can safely return this responsibility to Boeing.”
Authority removed after Max crashes
The FAA had stripped Boeing of the ability to issue those certificates after two fatal 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019, CNBC reported. The aircraft maker has faced years of safety scrutiny tied to the Max program and later quality problems, according to CNBC.
The 737 Max is Boeing’s best-selling aircraft, CNBC reported. The 787 Dreamliner is also covered by the restored authority, the FAA said.
The September step did not fully restore Boeing’s role. It allowed the company to handle only some certificates while the FAA continued direct involvement, giving the regulator a comparison between its own findings and Boeing’s findings, according to the FAA’s Friday statement.
Decision follows other Boeing safety crises
CNBC reported that the FAA’s decision comes after several high-profile safety problems for Boeing, including a January 2024 incident involving a new 737 Max 9. In that case, a door plug came off shortly after the flight began, CNBC reported.
The FAA’s statement did not announce new enforcement action or production limits. It said the evidence from the past eight months supported handing the certificate responsibility back to Boeing for the Max and Dreamliner programs.
Boeing did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment. CNBC described the FAA decision as a sign of renewed confidence from the regulator and the U.S. government in Boeing, one of the largest U.S. exporters by value.
This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.