FAA lets Boeing resume certifying 737 MAX, Dreamliner jets after several safety lapses, crashes

The Federal Aviation Administration will allow Boeing to resume issuing airworthiness certificates for some 737 MAX and 787 Dreamliner aircraft from next week, ending years of direct federal control imposed after fatal crashes and quality lapses.

The FAA revoked Boeing’s authority to certify individual 737 MAX planes in 2019 following the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes and later extended the ban to 787 aircraft in 2022 due to production quality problems. Manufacturers are typically delegated such certification powers, but Boeing’s repeated safety failures led regulators to intervene.

Starting September 29, Boeing and the FAA will alternate weeks in issuing airworthiness certificates, the agency said, confirming a Reuters report. Boeing shares rose nearly 5% on the news.

“The FAA will only allow this step forward because we are confident it can be done safely,” the agency said in a statement. “This decision follows a thorough review of Boeing’s ongoing production quality and will allow our inspectors to focus additional surveillance in the production process. The FAA will continue to maintain direct and rigorous oversight of Boeing’s production processes.”

The move does not increase Boeing’s delivery rate but signals regulatory recognition of progress in strengthening safety systems. The FAA currently caps 737 MAX production at 38 planes per month, imposed after a January 2024 Alaska Airlines incident in which a new aircraft suffered a mid-air cabin blowout linked to missing bolts.

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said earlier this month that any future production increases would depend on the recommendations of frontline inspectors.

Boeing still faces scrutiny. This month, the FAA proposed a $3.1 million fine for safety violations, citing hundreds of quality system breaches at Boeing’s Renton, Washington, 737 plant and at subcontractor Spirit AeroSystems’ fuselage factory in Wichita, Kansas. The agency also said Boeing had presented two unairworthy aircraft for approval.

The Alaska Airlines door-plug failure triggered a Justice Department criminal investigation under then-President Joe Biden and highlighted Boeing’s non-compliance with a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement linked to earlier certification misconduct.

(With Reuters inputs)