Airlines Ground New Boeing 737 MAX Over Flawed Flight Software

Boeing's 737 MAX aircraft has been plagued by software issues, and now two major airlines are refusing to accept new planes with a recently identified problem. Southwest Airlines and United Airlines have informed Boeing that they will not take delivery of new 737 MAX aircraft equipped with affected software versions 14 and 14.1.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is reviewing the issue, which can cause automated vertical navigation to disengage during a specific missed-approach scenario. While Boeing claims this does not pose an immediate safety threat, the manufacturer has acknowledged the problem and is working on a permanent software update.

The affected airlines have stressed that their existing 737 MAX aircraft are not equipped with the problematic versions of the software. This development comes as Boeing awaits certification for the 737 MAX 10 and prepares to deliver the newly certified 737 MAX 7.