By David Shepardson
LONDON (Reuters) – Boeing (NYSE:)’s industrial airplane chief stated the planemaker has settled on the design to deal with an engine anti-ice system that has considerably delayed certification of the 737 MAX 7 and prompt a repair may very well be accomplished by subsequent yr.
The difficulty with the anti-ice system may result in it overheating and probably inflicting an engine failure. “We’re progressing on the engineering,” Stephanie Pope stated in a gathering with reporters.
Requested if the planemaker will conduct a flight take a look at later this yr and full the repair round early to mid-2025, Pope didn’t provide a proper prediction however stated she thought it could be round that point.
Boeing, underneath scrutiny over its security report after the mid-air blowout of a cabin panel on a brand new Alaska Airways MAX 9, in January withdrew a request it filed with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) final yr searching for an exemption from a security customary for the MAX 7 over the difficulty, which pushed potential certification into 2025 or later.
Senator Tammy Duckworth in January urged Boeing to desert the exemption request, saying the difficulty may “cause the engine nacelle to break apart and fall off. This could generate fuselage-penetrating debris, which could endanger passengers in window seats behind the wing.”
The FAA, which has repeatedly declined to place any timetable on approval, has stated it “will thoroughly review any design Boeing submits.”
Boeing has stated there have been no security incidents noticed in MAX 8 and MAX 9 planes in service stemming from overheating within the engine inlet.
The planemaker issued steerage to airways in June 2023 to observe established procedures when utilizing the MAX’s engine anti-ice system to deal with potential overheating, and the FAA in August 2023 mandated the prevailing process to show off the engine anti-ice system when it’s now not wanted.
Southwest Airways (NYSE:), the MAX 7’s greatest purchaser, stated in January it now not anticipated to take deliveries of the mannequin this yr.
Boeing has stated it should first win approval from the FAA for the MAX 7 earlier than it could get the bigger, better-selling MAX 10 licensed.
