FAA Certifies Boeing 737-10, the Largest 737 MAX, Clearing Way for Deliveries
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on October 20 issued an amended type certificate for the Boeing 737-10, Boeing announced the same day, completing certification of the newest and largest member of the 737 MAX family and clearing the way for Boeing to begin deliveries in the coming months. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy traveled to Boeing's factory in Everett, Washington, on Tuesday for the announcement, according to Reuters.
Boeing said the 737-10 certification program included nearly 1,000 test flights totaling more than 2,000 flight hours, plus 1,000 ground test hours, tens of thousands of pages of documentation and many hours of formal meetings with the FAA. The airplane is the first commercial jet certified to the full extent of the 2020 Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act (ACSAA), which mandated enhanced documentation of safety assessments and human factors evaluations. The model also introduces an enhanced Angle-of-Attack system that will become standard across the 737 MAX family.
"Completing the certification program clears the path for us to deliver a Boeing airplane that will set a new standard in commercial aviation. The 737-10 offers greater capacity, longer range and the best seat economics in its class," said Stephanie Pope, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Chris Payne, vice president and general manager of 737 Airplane Development Programs, said the flight test team ran a disciplined, methodical campaign to validate every system. "After extensive safety reviews, including thousands of hours of test flights, the team at the FAA is ready to approve this critical aircraft for sale," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement, according to The Wall Street Journal. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the decision followed a thorough review of the aircraft's design and safety requirements, adding, "We will continue to hold Boeing to the highest safety standards," according to Reuters.
The 737-10 will typically seat 185 to 210 passengers in a two-class configuration, and up to 230 in maximum configuration, with a range of up to 3,100 nautical miles (5,740 km) and a 20 percent reduction in fuel use and carbon emissions compared with older-generation jets; Boeing says it has the lowest per-seat costs of any single-aisle airplane in service. More than 30 customers worldwide have ordered 1,555 of the model, more than 30 percent of the 737 MAX program's current unfilled order book. Total orders for the MAX family stand at 7,350 airplanes, of which nearly 2,500 had been delivered through the end of September 2026. The smallest family member, the 737-7, was certified by the FAA in August of this year.
The 737-10 was originally planned to begin deliveries in 2020, according to Reuters, but was delayed for years as regulatory scrutiny intensified after two fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. Near the end of the process, a software glitch in the automated flight guidance system prompted a further review, which the FAA concluded was not a safety issue, according to The Wall Street Journal. With the 737-10 certified, all five members of the family, the 737-7, 737-8, 737-8-200, 737-9 and 737-10, have now completed certification.
Major 737-10 customers include United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and Ryanair; Boeing opened a new 737 production line at its Everett plant in July to raise output of the family.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：波音737 MAX飞机（波音公司官方发布图）。波音公司经 PR Newswire 发布／Photo: A Boeing 737 MAX aircraft (official Boeing image). Boeing via PR Newswire
