Boeing is struggling to meet the timeline to fix design errors!
US-based international aerospace company Boeing says it will take up to 12 months to redesign the anti-ice system before certification of the Boeing 737 Max. Meanwhile, there is no specific information about when this particular aircraft might get certification.
Company executives say it may take another year for the Max-7's engine anti-ice system to become effective. But apparently that timeline can also be prolonged, aviation people are thinking because Boeing itself is reluctant to give a specific timeline in this regard. The matter is pending in the hands of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the aircraft manufacturer said.
However, Boeing had hoped to receive certification for the 737 Max 7 by 2023. And deliveries of the new Max 7 aircraft could begin in 2024. But last year, several aircraft lost airworthiness due to overheating problems in Boeing's engine anti-ice systems. In this situation, Boeing wants a temporary suspension from the provision last November so that the certification process does not get stuck. The act calls for this exemption until May 2026. But the end was not saved. Rather, the certification process is suspended due to these reasons.
Boeing says it is working on a permanent solution to the problem. But the whole thing is so muddled that it is not clear whether the issue will affect the timeline of Max-7 or not. But with requests for more time from the FAA, it is confirmed the company will need more time to prepare itself.
Another report says that on January 29, Boeing withdrew its request and said it would fix the design before seeking certification. According to various media reports, political pressure has worked behind him. It has been said that the company was under severe pressure from Senator and former pilot Tammy Duckworth, chair of the aviation sub-committee in the United States Senate. The chief executive of Boeing was forced to meet with Duckworth.
CEO David Calhoun made the announcement himself during Boeing's 2023 earnings report on January 31. He said he recently met Duckworth in Washington DC. He told the senator they hoped to have an engineering solution to the problem within nine months.
According to one report, Duckworth advised Calhoun at the time that Boeing should finish redesigning the anti-ice system before, rather than after, certification. And their application for temporary exemption from safety certification standards should also be withdrawn. After which Duckworth himself said in a statement. He said Boeing has confirmed it will withdraw the application and that the Boeing 737 Max 7 will not go into operation until the defect is cleared. Such operations can have serious consequences for passenger safety. This Senator also called on the Federal Aviation Administration to reject Boeing's application.
Boeing's Chief Financial Officer Brian West also spoke from the event on January 31. He said a year's worth of redesign work could be completed. However, he could not mention the specific date. Boeing officials also declined to give an estimated timeline that day for when the FAA could receive certification for the Max 10, the largest member of the Max family. However, the flight test program related to the certification of Max 10 starts in the last quarter of 2023.
West said the certification will come when the FAA makes a decision.
Both Boeing and the FAA are familiar with this issue of overheating. The problem caused damage to the engine barrel. All of Boeing's Max variants have this overheating issue. In 2023, the FAA issued an airworthiness directive for Boeing's two current MAX models, the Max-8 and Max-9. The directive also prohibits several MAX operations and specifies when pilots must use the anti-ice system.