The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has decided to hold off certifying Boeing’s long-delayed 737 MAX 10 until a newly-disclosed software issue gets resolved.
While the planemaker has been putting its efforts to bring the largest version of its best-selling jet to market, the software glitch has added another layer of setback.
The issue affecting certain 737 MAX aircraft, going by the accounts of Boeing and the FAA, could prevent pilots from accessing automated flight guidance during a specific landing scenario.
The company said it had informed operators and was developing a software update to permanently address the problem.
“We will be delaying the 10 until we’re satisfied that we don’t have an issue here,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford told reporters at an event at Reagan Washington National Airport on Monday.
As per the FAA, the software version can increase pilot workload when doing a go-around, where a pilot aborts a landing attempt, applies power, and climbs back into the sky to try to land again.
While the FAA planned to convene a Corrective Action Review Board to investigate the issue, the panel, as per Reuters, won’t be constituted before next week at the earliest.
The board will test whether the software poses an unreasonable risk to safety, which could lead to more months of rework before the MAX 10 could get certified, which was widely expected to take place in October.
However, WestJet, the Canadian carrier and one of the airlines operating the software on its 737 MAX fleet, said it had not experienced any in-service issues and did not view the matter as a safety concern.
“We have standard operating procedures and training to mitigate this type of event,” the carrier said in a statement.
The software was reportedly supplied by jet engine maker and industry supplier GE Aerospace.
“I think in this particular case, due to the focus that’s on it, GE may try to get this software correction in much quicker,” Bedford said.
“Is that weeks, days, or months? I don’t know,” he added further.
“Despite the bug, pilots maintained control, unlike the undisclosed 737 MAX automatic flight control software that was involved in two crashes in 2018 and 2019,” Bedford added further.
Alaska Airlines and United Airlines said none of their aircraft currently use the affected software.
While United is not accepting deliveries of aircraft equipped with the software version under review, Alaska is working with Boeing and the FAA to evaluate the issue further.