Two Max 8 crashes in 2018 and 2019 killed 346 and led to an overhaul of certification oversight
The 737 Max 7, the smallest variant in the 737 Max family, received Federal Aviation Administration approval Monday, nearly a decade after Boeing first unveiled the plane. The 737 family is the company’s bestseller.
The certification was delayed for years as Boeing addressed technical issues and faced heightened regulatory scrutiny stemming from two fatal crashes of the larger Max 8. Those crashes, which occurred off the coast of Indonesia in 2018 and in Ethiopia in 2019, killed a combined 346 people and triggered a worldwide grounding of the Max fleet.
In the aftermath of those disasters, the FAA overhauled how it certifies Boeing aircraft. The agency said Monday that its oversight of the company would continue beyond the Max 7’s approval.
The FAA cleared the plane after requiring additional testing, design changes and a comprehensive review of its design and safety systems, a process that stretched far beyond the original certification timeline. The agency said the approval represents a milestone in Boeing’s effort to move past years of safety, quality and production difficulties.