Boeing’s Product Certification Timelines and Challenges

Subscription Required

By the Leeham News Team

April 18, 2022, © Leeham News: US Rep. Peter DeFazio, the chairman of the House Transportation Committee, is on record opposing a certification extension for the Boeing 737-10 Max. Under legislation previously passed by Congress, Boeing has until the end of this year to certify the MAX 10.

Boeing 737-10. Source: Boeing.

DeFazio is a Democrat from Oregon who is not seeking reelection this year. He was a fierce critic of Boeing during the House hearings of the MAX crisis. His opposition to extending the certification timeline for the MAX 10 is bad news for Boeing. It was the path of least resistance to completing the Max 10 certification without implementing a new Engine Indicating and Crew Alerting System (EICAS) system on the airplane. Requiring EICAS will greatly complicate the certification path and future crew training differences with the rest of the 737 Max models..

How did we get here?

In the wake of the two MCAS-related 737 losses, Congress passed new laws regarding Aviation Safety.  The most sweeping of them was the Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act.  This is a broad stroke law addressing 37 different portions of the FAA’s review process.  It changes a great many things inside Boeing as well as inside the Federal Aviation Administration.

Let's look through these changes and see how the process changes will impact things.

To read the rest of the article Login or Subscribe today.