FAA Finds New Boeing 737 MAX Problem

The US Federal Aviation Administration has found a new potential risk on the 737 MAX that it says Boeing must mitigate before the jet can be returned to commercial service.

In a statement, the FAA said it is “following a thorough process, not a prescribed timeline, for returning the Boeing 737 MAX to passenger service” and will “lift the aircraft’s prohibition order when we deem it is safe to do so.”

The US regulator gave no details of the recently discovered issue, but said its process is designed to discover and highlight potential risks.

In response, Boeing said that during the FAA’s review of the 737 MAX software update and simulator sessions, the regulator “identified an additional requirement that it has asked the company to address through the software changes.”

A Boeing statement said it agrees with the FAA’s decision and request, and is working on the required software update.

“Boeing will not offer the 737 MAX for certification by the FAA until we have satisfied all requirements for certification of the MAX and its safe return to service.”

Media reports suggest the new issue was discovered during FAA flight simulator testing of the MAX’s software, with one test in particular taking longer to recover control of the aircraft in certain circumstances.