FAA Delays 737 MAX 10 Certification Over Software Issue

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has delayed certification of the Boeing 737 MAX 10 due to a newly disclosed software issue. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford confirmed that certification will not proceed until the regulator is satisfied that the problem has been resolved.

The issue involves versions 14 and 14.1 of the flight management computer software, which can cause the vertical navigation mode (VNAV) to disengage under specific conditions following a missed approach. The MAX 10 used version 14.1 during its certification flight-test program.

GE Aerospace is the supplier of the software, and Bedford said the company could accelerate development of a correction because of the attention now focused on the issue. However, he declined to estimate how long the delay could last or whether a correction would take days, weeks, or months.