The FAA administrator said Boeing's 737 Max 10 cannot be certified until the agency finishes assessing a software issue on the aircraft, leaving the largest 737 Max variant short of the approval it needs for commercial deliveries.
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The FAA administrator said the 737 Max 10, the largest member of Boeing's 737 Max family, will be delayed until the agency can assess a software issue on the aircraft. The statement did not identify the system involved, describe the nature of the problem, or set a new target date for approval. The Max 10 remains inside the type-certification process, which means Boeing is not yet permitted to hand the model over to customers. Under U.S. rules, a civil airliner must hold an FAA type certificate before it can begin commercial service.
The variant seats roughly 230 passengers in a typical two-class layout, positioning it against Airbus's A321neo in the largest single-aisle segment. Airlines including United, Delta, Southwest and Ryanair have ordered the model, and those carriers have built fleet plans around a delivery schedule that was already running behind earlier expectations. Certification is the gate to revenue: Boeing books most of the cash from a sale when an aircraft is delivered, so a longer approval path touches both airline capacity planning and Boeing's own handover figures. The 737 family is Boeing's best-selling aircraft line, which makes the timing of the Max 10's approval unusually consequential for its commercial airplane business.
Software has been a central focus of FAA scrutiny of the 737 Max since the 2018 and 2019 crashes, which were linked in part to the MCAS flight-control software. The 2020 Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act changed how the FAA delegates design review to manufacturers and tightened the agency's own sign-off role. A January 2024 in-flight door plug failure on a 737 Max 9 intensified that scrutiny, and the FAA capped Boeing's 737 production rate while it reviewed the manufacturer's quality and safety processes. In that setting, a software finding on the 737 Max draws formal agency assessment before certification can move forward.
Certification and delivery are sequential steps: an aircraft cannot be handed to an airline until its type certificate is issued, and pilot training and maintenance programs are typically finalized alongside that approval. Boeing has delivered more than 1,000 737 Max jets since the type returned to service in late 2020, while the smaller Max 7 and the Max 10 have stayed in the certification pipeline. For carriers that ordered the Max 10, a later approval can mean extending the service life of older aircraft or adjusting schedules, although airlines generally do not announce such changes until timelines firm up. Boeing has not said publicly how the software review affects its delivery plans for the variant.
The FAA administrator said the aircraft's certification will be delayed until the agency can assess a software issue on the plane. The statement did not specify which software system is involved or how long the review might take, and no new certification date was given.
On modern airliners, flight-control and other safety-critical functions are managed by software, so those systems are part of the design the regulator must approve. A finding in that software typically requires documentation, testing and formal FAA acceptance before the item can be closed and the type certificate issued.
United, Delta, Southwest and Ryanair are among the carriers that have placed orders for the variant, which seats roughly 230 passengers in a two-class layout. Those airlines have planned fleet and route decisions around deliveries that were already expected later than originally anticipated.
What the FAA Announced
Why the Max 10 Sits at the Center of Boeing's Order Book
A Stricter Oversight Environment
Certification, Deliveries and the Backlog
What Remains Unresolved
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The FAA statement left several questions open, including which software system is under review, whether it is a new finding or a previously identified item, and how much design work Boeing may need to complete. In certification, the agency evaluates compliance with applicable airworthiness standards, and a software change generally requires documentation, testing and agency acceptance before the item is closed out. Neither Boeing nor the FAA has provided a revised timeline for the Max 10. Until that assessment is finished, the variant stays short of the approval required for commercial deliveries. Based on public news sources.
The 2019 grounding affected Max 8 and Max 9 aircraft that were already flying with airlines, following two fatal crashes linked in part to flight-control software. The Max 10 has never been certified or delivered, so this is a pre-certification review rather than an order to stop an operating fleet.
The FAA statement concerned the Max 10 specifically, though the smaller Max 7 has also been awaiting certification. Because the variants share avionics and systems architecture, findings on one model can inform how the agency reviews the others.
