docav8tor

U.S. FAA says some Boeing 737 MAX 7 submissions incomplete, need review

David Shepardson27 min agoThe first Boeing 737 MAX 7 is unveiled in Renton, Washington, U.S. February 5, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Redmond/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told Boeing Co (BA.N) that some key documents submitted as part of the agency's ongoing certification review of the 737 MAX 7 are incomplete and others need a reassessment by the U.S. planemaker.

In an Oct. 12 letter to Boeing from FAA official Ian Won seen by Reuters, the agency asked Boeing to reassess some assertions that hazards classified as catastrophic "do not contain human factors assumptions."
Advertisement · Scroll to continueThe FAA also said it was unable to complete some reviews of Boeing submissions "due to missing and incomplete information regarding human factors assumptions in catastrophic hazard conditions." The new letter intensifies concerns about the company's timeline for beginning deliveries of the smaller variant of the best-selling MAX.

Boeing faces a late December deadline for the FAA to certify the MAX 7 and MAX 10 or it must meet new modern cockpit alerting standards that could significantly delay the airplanes unless the company receives a waiver from Congress.

The requirements were approved by Congress in late 2020 as part of FAA certification reforms after two fatal 737 MAX crashes killed 346 people and led to the bestselling plane's 20-month grounding.

Reuters first reported on Oct. 3 Boeing does not anticipate winning approval for the MAX 10 before next summer, citing an FAA sent to Congress.

Boeing said in a statement Monday it "is focused on meeting all regulatory requirements to certify the 737-7 and safety remains the driving factor in this effort."
Advertisement · Scroll to continueCertifications of planes require extensive paperwork submissions and detailed review of safety assessments by the FAA.

In a Sept. 19 letter to Boeing, the FAA expressed concerns that the planemaker would not be able to win certification for the MAX 7 this year. Boeing must get approval for the MAX 7 first as the MAX 10 approval is contingent on some MAX 7 documentation, Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun said last month.

The planemaker added it will "continue to prioritize being thorough and transparent in our documentation and interactions with the FAA."

Human factors analyses refer to how pilots respond to cockpit emergencies. The FAA letter said Boeing must as part of its review assure the agency "that those safety assessments do not contain human factors assumptions" and if there are others it must identify them and submit them for review.

A December 2020 Senate report into the MAX concluded the FAA and Boeing "had established a pre-determined outcome to reaffirm a long-held human factor assumption related to pilot reaction time ... It appears, in this instance, FAA and Boeing were attempting to cover up important information that may have contributed to the 737 MAX tragedies."

The Wall Street Journal reported the letter earlier.

Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Kim Coghill and Stephen Coates

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Beech Dude

And the incompetent saga continues...

ImSoSuss

If Congress ever grants them an extension it should only be done on the condition that these last two 737 variants are the last 737 varmints ever produced. You can only stretch a turd so much until it breaks. Time for Boeing to develop an all new NB 160 - 210 seat jet.

Edit: Caught a typo I made up there but after further review that word works too so I am leaving the statement as is.

docav8tor

long past due

ShyGuy

Ha! Good edit. Perfect the way it is


I think Boeing would sign an agreement like that yesterday. They don't seem to have any interest in having anything more than the 4 variants of MAX 7/8/9/10. If this gets approved, this will still serve them well for the next 25-30 yr life cycle of airframes.

JamesNoBrakes

But have you tried putting new wings and engines on that turd?

fasteddie800

Given the entire Max debacle, one would have thought the FAA and Boeing would have been in lock-step regarding what's needed for certification.

Given the stakes and the visibility, It seems like they'd both be at the point where draft cert documents would be shared back and forth. Long before the the "official" submittal "for score." It seems like that's not the case, and Boeing did some "hand-waving" to answer some of the tough questions, turned it into the FAA, and hoped for the best.

Hard to tell if it's arrogance, incompetence, or a mix. The Seattle Times has been doing a good job of covering the ongoing Max saga; I can't wait to see their take on this.

Would really be curious to hear from the ground-level engineers on this program. I would have thought Boeing would have been throwing every resource available at the Max certification work, given what's at stake. Seems like maybe that's not the case.

nene

This is a political problem, not an engineering/safety problem. If the certification of the 700/1000 is really "unsafe" than what does that say about the certification of every existing 737 variant.

Congress/FAA wants Boeing to move on, off of the antiquated cockpit system of the 737NG design, but there are a few more "turds" to be sold before Boeing is willing to walk away.

All it will take is a few more political "donations" to the right congress/senate personnel and this matter will be ancient history.

David Puddy

Has the 737-7 MAX BBJ already been approved and in production?

at6d

Build the 757 MAX!