Regulator Postpones Approval of Long-Awaited Boeing Model Due to a New Software Issue

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has decided to postpone approval of a new variant of Boeing’s best-selling airliner—the 737 Max 10—due to a software issue that has been identified. This model has been eagerly awaited for several years, but the regulator must first determine whether the defect poses a threat to flight safety, said agency head Brian Bedford, according to Bloomberg.

It is noteworthy that certification has once again been delayed just as Boeing was in the final stages of obtaining approval to begin deliveries to airlines. The Max 10 was expected to get the “green light” in the coming weeks, the agency reports.

Shares of the American aircraft manufacturer plummeted 6.9% during trading on September 28.

Obtaining this approval is of great importance to Boeing: the new aircraft is expected to help the company increase its cash flow and strengthen its balance sheet after several challenging years. Orders for the 737 Max 10 have exceeded 1,500 aircraft, making it one of the most popular models in the Max family, according to Bloomberg. The new model is particularly important for competing with Airbus in the lucrative narrow-body aircraft market, the agency reports. It could rival the most popular European jet—the A321neo.

The software glitch in question could cause the automatic navigation system to shut down when the crew changes the flight path after going around for a second circuit, The Wall Street Journal reported. At the same time, the head of the FAA stated that when the regulator certified the smaller model—the 737 Max 7—it was equipped with precisely this latest version of the software. This version fixed a problem with the vertical navigation system, but unexpectedly introduced a new, less significant defect.

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