FAA restores Boeing authority to certify 737 Max and 787 jets

The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday that Boeing may again issue airworthiness certificates for its 737 Max and 787 Dreamliner aircraft, restoring an authority removed after two fatal 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019. The decision affects the final certification step before those aircraft are transferred to customers, a point of regulatory control with direct implications for Boeing’s delivery process.

The FAA said it made the decision after reviewing results from an eight-month period in which Boeing and the agency alternated responsibility for issuing certificates on some 737 Max and 787 aircraft. According to the FAA, production quality findings were comparable when Boeing issued the certificates and when the regulator did so.

“Based on these results, the FAA determined it can safely return this responsibility to Boeing,” the agency said Friday.

Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to CNBC.

How the certification process changed

An airworthiness certificate is the formal sign-off that allows an individual aircraft to be delivered after production and inspection. For the 737 Max and 787 Dreamliner, the FAA had taken over that function from Boeing following the 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019, increasing direct government involvement in the handover process.

In September, the FAA began allowing Boeing to issue some certificates again, but only under a split arrangement. The regulator and Boeing alternated weeks handling the work for certain Max and Dreamliner aircraft, giving the FAA a basis to compare findings across both processes.

The FAA’s Friday statement said that comparison supported a broader return of certificate authority to Boeing. The agency did not, in the material reported by CNBC, provide additional numerical detail on the number of aircraft covered during the review period or the specific production findings observed.

Regulatory scrutiny after safety crises

The 737 Max remains central to Boeing’s commercial aircraft business, while the 787 Dreamliner is one of its principal wide-body products. Boeing is also one of the largest U.S. exporters by value, according to CNBC, making aircraft deliveries relevant not only to airlines but also to U.S. trade flows and industrial output.

The restoration of certification authority comes after several years of heightened scrutiny of Boeing’s manufacturing and safety controls. The FAA removed Boeing’s ability to issue certificates for the 737 Max after two fatal crashes involving the model in 2018 and 2019.

Boeing’s safety record faced renewed attention in January 2024, when a door plug separated from a new 737 Max 9 shortly after takeoff, an incident CNBC described as a near catastrophe. The event intensified questions over quality controls at the company’s factories.

The FAA’s latest action does not remove its role as Boeing’s safety regulator. It returns a specific responsibility: allowing Boeing to sign airworthiness certificates for the 737 Max and 787 before customer delivery, after the agency said its recent review showed comparable quality outcomes under Boeing and FAA issuance.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.