FAA Restores Full Certification Authority to Boeing for 737 Max and 787 Jets

The Federal Aviation Administration announced that, beginning next week, Boeing will again be authorized to issue airworthiness certificates for all of its 737 Max and 787 Dreamliner aircraft. After months of joint weekly safety checks by Boeing and FAA inspectors, the agency concluded that the manufacturer’s final safety inspections meet the standards required for flight certification.

Associated PressNew York Times

Federal oversight of Boeing intensified after two fatal 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019, which were linked to a new flight-control software system. In 2019 the FAA seized the airline’s right to self-certify 737 Max deliveries. The agency also ended Boeing’s self-certification of 787 Dreamliners in 2022 because of persistent production-quality problems. A further incident in January 2024—an improperly installed panel that detached from an Alaska Airlines 737 Max in mid-flight—prompted the FAA to impose monthly production caps, later eased from 38 to 47 jets per month.

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Boeing’s expanded capacity includes a second 737 Max assembly line in Everett, Washington, supplementing the long-standing Renton facility. The company delivered 314 jets in the first half of 2024, its strongest semi-annual performance since 2018, and holds $576 billion in commercial-plane orders, the highest ever recorded.

New York Times

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the agency’s confidence in Boeing’s safety processes enabled the restoration of full certification authority. Boeing’s statement affirmed its commitment to continue operating under FAA oversight while building “safe, high-quality commercial airplanes that comply with all airworthiness certification requirements.”

Associated PressNew York Times

• “Safety drives everything we do, and this step forward is only possible because we are confident it can be done safely,” — Bryan Bedford, FAA Administrator

Associated Press

• “Boeing will continue to work under the oversight of the FAA in building safe, high-quality commercial airplanes that comply with all airworthiness certification requirements,” — Boeing, corporate statement

Associated Press