FAA to Ease Restrictions on Boeing Aircraft Deliveries
Boeing expected to regain some authority from regulators to perform final safety checks on jets
Federal regulators are scaling back obstacles for Boeing to deliver some of its newly produced aircraft to customers, a hopeful sign for the plane maker’s recovery from a string of crises.
Boeing is slated to regain authority from the Federal Aviation Administration to perform final safety checks on its 737 MAX jets, people familiar with the matter said. The approval could be announced as soon as Friday, one person said.
Employees of the aerospace giant would regain the authority to perform safety signoffs in phases, the people said. FAA inspectors will remain involved in issuing so-called airworthiness certificates, which are required for each aircraft to be able to fly with passengers.
The FAA often delegates routine inspections to aerospace manufacturers to focus scarce personnel on more critical tasks. But regulators tightened oversight of Boeing in 2019 after two deadly 737 MAX crashes.
The FAA began requiring each new jet rolling out of the 737 MAX factory in Renton, Wash., to be checked only by agency inspectors. The federal agency had become concerned about pressure on Boeing employees to produce and deliver aircraft. It said it needed to more closely monitor the manufacturing process to ensure the safety of the flying public.
Later, after a series of quality mishaps, the FAA revoked the same authority for the 787 Dreamliner, which is made in South Carolina. Boeing is also expected to regain the ability on the Dreamliner, some of the people said.
The restriction has meant Boeing can’t be as flexible with delivering planes to customers, having to work on government employees’ workday schedules to get safety approvals. Returning some of the authority to Boeing could free up FAA inspectors to more closely monitor the production of planes, rather than paperwork at the end of the process.
Boeing’s easing regulatory burden is a sign that government officials are increasingly satisfied with the company’s effort to improve its manufacturing process.
The FAA is also expected to allow Boeing to boost its 737 MAX production rate to 42 planes a month, up from a cap of 38, people familiar with the matter said. Regulators, blaming Boeing’s emphasis on production over quality, imposed the production limit after a fuselage panel blew off an Alaska Airlines jet midair in early 2024.
It couldn’t be learned when the FAA would make a final decision. Lifting the cap would allow Boeing to more quickly produce and deliver aircraft.
If it is allowed to raise monthly 737 MAX production to 42 jets, the company has said, it would hold production at that level for several months to watch for any issues. After that time, the company would pick up the monthly pace by another five jets.
“Obviously, there’s strong demand for our portfolio, and the more we can accelerate the production rate, the better,” Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg said during an investor conference earlier this month. “However…we are not going to push. If we’re not ready, we’ll wait a month.”
Boeing’s ability to conduct safety checks on its planes has been politically sensitive.
Frontline FAA employees and managers, as well as some senior agency officials, had wanted to return the authority to Boeing before the Alaska Airlines door-plug blowout in 2024.
Before the incident, the quality of Boeing’s airplanes had been improving, according to agency officials at that time. Still, returning the authority came with complicated optics for the FAA, whose oversight has been criticized as weak after the plane maker’s various crises.
The Alaska Airlines accident ensured Boeing would remain under tighter regulatory scrutiny for longer. Employees at Boeing’s Renton factory failed to bolt a fuselage panel in place before it left the site. The FAA imposed a production limit, established key performance metrics, added inspectors to Boeing’s factory and re-established a permanent presence there.
The FAA in early September proposed Boeing pay $3.1 million in fines for alleged safety violations partly in connection with the Alaska blowout. Among the problems flagged by the FAA: Boeing presented two aircraft with problems to the FAA for final approval and failed to follow its quality system.