Boeing, GE among industry coalition pushing for speed-up of U.S. aircraft certification

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FARNBOROUGH — Boeing, GE Aerospace and other large U.S. aviation manufacturers have formed an industry coalition that’s working with the Federal Aviation Administration to accelerate and modernize the aircraft certification process, spokespeople for organizations leading the initiative confirmed. 

The Partnership for Regulatory Innovation, Safety, and Modernization, also known as PRISM, is intended to help the aviation industry safely emerge from a period characterized by FAA-induced delays to major aircraft programs that followed a spate of severe safety and quality crises over the last decade. This, in part, waylaid Boeing’s 777X, the latest 737 Max variants and Gulfstream’s ultra-long-range G700 jet, among others, with nearly a decade of serious certification delays infuriating customers and generating expensive headaches for manufacturers. 

As the glut of open certification projects begins to ease with certification of the 737 Max 7 expected imminently, coalition members hope PRISM’s efforts will avoid similar issues with a slew of new entrants coming down the pipeline, from electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to eventual all-new Boeing and Airbus narrowbodies. 

Spokespeople for the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) in separate statements to The Air Current both described PRISM as a “collaborative” effort between FAA and industry that prioritizes safe modernization. “Goals of this effort include increasing applicant accountability, facilitating FAA safety oversight, and focusing regulatory resources on areas that deliver the greatest safety benefit,” the GAMA spokesperson said. 

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