FAA 将认证波音 737 MAX 10，公告定于周二发布

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is expected to announce this Tuesday, October 20, 2026, at Boeing's plant in Everett (Washington) that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has certified the 737 MAX 10, according to sources familiar with the plans consulted by Reuters. The announcement will come during a visit to the new assembly line Boeing opened in July in Everett (known internally as the North Line). That facility, which replicates the Renton lines, began by building MAX 8s and MAX 9s and is intended mainly for the MAX 10 once certified. On Friday, October 16, the FAA completed the meeting of the Type Certification Board (TCB), the last major formal step before the type certificate is signed, and industry sources indicated that the meeting was successful. After that stage, Boeing had to submit the Project Statement of Completion; the formal signatures were expected in the first days of this week. The MAX 10's flight test campaign had wrapped up in July, with 976 flights and more than 2,060 flight hours, plus some 1,040 hours of ground testing. The smallest model in the family, the MAX 7, had received its certificate in August. THE U14 SOFTWARE THAT DELAYED THE PROCESS In late September the FAA had paused the MAX 10's certification after anomalous behaviour was detected in versions U14 and U14.1 of the Flight Management Computer (FMC) software. Under certain conditions after a go-around, if the crew modifies the programmed route, the VNAV mode can disconnect and the system drops to a more basic level of pitch automation. The FAA and Boeing concluded that this is not an unsafe condition: pilots retain full control of the aircraft and the indications are clear. On October 2, a Corrective Action Review Board determined that the problem did not need to be corrected before certifying the aircraft, and the FAA issued Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) 2026-17, which is not mandatory and covers both the MAX and the 737 NG with those software versions. Boeing is working on a permanent update, initially planned for 2028 and which it aims to bring forward, and has published interim procedures for crews. Several US airlines —Alaska, American, Southwest and United— chose to stay on version U13 or to reject deliveries with U14. The 737-10 is the longest member of the MAX family: 43.8 meters in length, a maximum capacity of 230 seats and a typical two-class layout for 188-204 passengers. Its official range is around 3,100 nautical miles (5,740 km), lower than that of the shorter variants because it keeps the same fuel capacity while weight increases. It competes directly with the Airbus A321neo in the high-density segment, although it does not match the range of the European aircraft's LR/XLR versions. Boeing presents it as the highest-capacity, lowest-cost-per-seat single-aisle aircraft in its portfolio. The model accounts for roughly 30% of the undelivered 737 family backlog, with close to 1,500 firm orders. MAIN CUSTOMERS AND DELIVERY SCHEDULE Among the largest operators are United Airlines, with about 167 firm orders and the model's largest individual customer; Ryanair, with 150 firm and 150 options; Alaska Airlines, with 105 firm and rights on another 35 (its largest order ever, announced in January 2026), and Delta Air Lines, WestJet, Pegasus, Akasa Air, Air India Express and Lufthansa Group, among others. WestJet is the contractual launch customer, through a leasing agreement with Aviation Capital Group. Alaska expects to receive its first aircraft in the northern spring of 2027 and to put them into service around April or mid-May, while Ryanair is aiming for its first 15 in that same spring. Boeing has already built several customer airframes awaiting certification. Duffy's visit comes at a time when the secretary is pushing reforms to speed up certification processes, arguing that current timelines —five years or more— hurt US competitiveness against China. The FAA proposed changes in June to reduce the use of exemptions, special conditions and findings of equivalent level of safety, and last week Duffy met in Georgia with the CEOs of Boeing, GE Aerospace, RTX, Honeywell and other manufacturers to discuss those reforms. Certification of the MAX 10 would complete the 737 MAX family after the MAX 7 and allow Boeing to start generating revenue from a program that is years behind schedule: entry into service was originally expected in 2020. It would also unlock the full use of the new Everett line, key for the manufacturer to raise its 737 production rate to 52 aircraft a month next year. Boeing referred queries to the FAA, which reiterated that “safety dictates the certification timeline.” So far there is no official confirmation that the certificate has already been signed: Duffy's announcement is scheduled for this Tuesday.