FAA's long-awaited certification of MAX 10 was briefly held up after flight- software glitch
By Andrew Tangel
Air-safety regulators cleared Boeing to start delivering its 737 MAX 10, the largest and final variant of its best-selling narrow-body aircraft that dates to the 1960s.
The long-awaited certification follows the August approval of the MAX 7, the smallest version of the single-aisle jet. The MAX 10's certification was briefly delayed by a new software glitch that the Federal Aviation Administration determined wasn't a safety issue.
"After extensive safety reviews -- including thousands of hours of test flights -- the team at the FAA is ready to approve this critical aircraft for sale," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the company would continue to be held to the highest safety standards.
Boeing had planned to start delivering both models years ago, but two deadly crashes involving another 737 model led to delays and new requirements for safety approvals before the jets could begin flying passengers.
The MAX 10 will come with a new safety feature that will eventually be added to other 737 MAX models. The enhanced angle-of-attack system calculates the angle of the plane's nose versus sensor readings on the aircraft.
Boeing 737s have historically had only two angle-of-attack sensors, so if one gets bad data the plane's flight computers haven't had a way to cross reference a third reading to ensure accuracy. The company said the new system would reduce the possibility of erroneous data and potentially ease pilots' workload.
The earlier MAX crashes, in 2018 and 2019, followed bad angle-of-attack data triggering a faulty flight-control system that pushed the planes into fatal nosedives. The crashes took 346 lives. Boeing later added safeguards to that system.
The MAX 10's approval means Boeing is cleared to deliver all four variants of the single-aisle MAX family to customers. Orders of the workhorse aircraft have climbed in recent months. Among its expected operators are U.S. carriers such as Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines. Southwest Airlines has placed orders for the smaller MAX 7.
Stretching 143 feet, 8 inches, the MAX 10 can hold a maximum of 230 seats, according to Boeing. That is 27 feet longer and 58 more seats than the MAX 7.