FAA Restores Boeing 737 MAX, 787 Self-Certification After 7 Years of Curbs
Updated
Updated · One Mile at a Time · Jul 18
FAA Restores Boeing 737 MAX, 787 Self-Certification After 7 Years of Curbs
3 articles · Updated · One Mile at a Time · Jul 18
Summary
Effective immediately, Boeing can again consistently issue airworthiness certificates for new 737 MAX and 787 jets instead of relying on FAA signoff for each delivery.
Eight months of alternating-week testing helped drive the move, with the FAA saying Boeing-certified planes showed no production-quality difference from aircraft certified directly by agency inspectors.
The agency said the change will free inspectors to watch critical assembly stages more closely, track manufacturing trends, and assess Boeing’s safety management system and reporting culture.
The restored authority reverses restrictions imposed in 2019 on the 737 MAX and in 2022 on the 787 after fatal crashes and broader quality-control failures put Boeing under intense scrutiny.
For Boeing, the shift should speed aircraft deliveries, though the company remains under rigorous FAA oversight as regulators test whether quality gains are durable.