Boeing’s 737 inlet issue drags on Max 7 certification

Boeing is closing in on 737 Max 7 certification, but an overheating inlet was at least partially responsible for its schedule slip.

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Release Date
August 8, 2023
Boeing's 737 inlet issue drags on 
Max 7 certification
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The Federal Aviation Administration on August 8 published a planned airworthiness directive for the 737 Max fleet warning of a scenario that could significantly damage the aircraft if the engine inlet overheats.

Although the issue has not been experienced in service by any of the nearly 1,300 737 Max -8, -9 and -8200 aircraft that have been delivered by Boeing, the emergent issue has contributed to extending the final leg and added to the company’s certification workload for the 737 Max 7.

Related: Boeing exits 2022 with congressional exemption for Max

Concurrently, Boeing has been progressing through 737 Max 10 development, and while the company has maintained its 2024 target for regulatory clearance, that approval is now not expected any earlier than June 2024, according to a person familiar with the company’s expectations.

While the FAA said it received a report on the potential for damage from overheating in June, The Air Current learned in December 2022 that Boeing was aware of the issue as it worked to complete the protracted development of the 737 Max 7 and Max 10.

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Jon Ostrower
Jon Ostrower is Editor-in-chief of The Air Current, where he leads coverage of the global aerospace and aviation industries. Prior to launching TAC in June 2018, Mr. Ostrower served as Aviation Editor for CNN Worldwide, guiding the network’s global coverage of the business and operations of aviation. Mr. Ostrower joined CNN in 2016 following four and a half years at the Wall Street Journal. Based first in Chicago and then in Washington, D.C., he covered Boeing, aviation safety, and the business of global aerospace. Before that, Mr. Ostrower was editor of FlightBlogger for Flightglobal and Flight International Magazine covering the development of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and other new aircraft programs from 2007 to 2012. He is also an instructor at the University of Southern California in the Viterbi School of Engineering's Aviation Safety and Security program. Mr. Ostrower, a Boston native, graduated from The George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs with a bachelor’s degree in Political Communication. He is based in Seattle.
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