FAA Says Boeing 737 MAX Software Glitch Is Not a Safety Issue, Removing a Hurdle to MAX 10 Certification

The Federal Aviation Administration said on Friday that a software glitch in some Boeing 737 MAX flight computers is not a flight-safety issue, removing a hurdle to certification of the 737 MAX 10, the last and largest model in the family. The FAA's Corrective Action Review Board made the call "because pilots retain full control of the aircraft and the indications to the flight crew are clear and unambiguous," the agency said. Boeing (BA) shares gained on the news.

The ruling reverses a setback from earlier in the week. Boeing flagged the issue last month, and on Monday the FAA said it would review whether it posed a safety-of-flight risk. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the agency would delay the MAX 10 "until we're satisfied that we don't have an issue here," and Boeing shares closed down 6.9% that day, Reuters reported via BNN Bloomberg. The stock recovered part of that ground on Friday, closing up about 0.7%, per SentiSense price data.

The glitch can surface after a missed approach, when pilots alter a preprogrammed flight path and then must take extra steps to use automated tools on the next approach. WestJet pilots found the anomaly during an entry-into-service validation flight in 2024, and the carrier was the first to report it to Boeing with supporting data, according to a memo to pilots seen by Reuters. Reuters separately reported that senior FAA officials were alerted only in August, nearly two years later, and that the same U14.1 software runs on the MAX 7, certified in August. Major U.S. airlines had reverted to an earlier software version during the review.

The ruling is not certification itself. Aviation officials now believe the MAX 10 could be certified as soon as later this month, according to Reuters, and Jefferies estimated Boeing has nearly 1,500 MAX 10s on order. The FAA will issue a special bulletin to airlines on recognizing and handling the condition, Boeing is working on a further software update, and the agency said it "will consider appropriate action if it receives new information". The next marker to watch is the formal MAX 10 type certificate.