FLYING Magazine
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said Monday that the agency will delay certification of Boeing’s 737 Max 10 as it works to determine whether a newly reported software glitch “is a safety of flight issue or not.” Certification of the Max 10 was expected as soon as this month, but Bedford said that will not happen “until we’re satisfied that we don’t have an issue.”
The Wall Street Journal, which was first to report the glitch on Saturday, said it emerged from a software update developed by GE Aerospace for the 737 Max flight management computer’s (FMC) operating system. The issue reportedly manifests when a pilot flying a precision approach with autopilot engaged initiates a missed approach. The malfunction causes the jet’s automated flight guidance system to incorrectly drop from VNAV to basic pitch control—which requires the pilots to handle pitch and navigation adjustments—if the preprogrammed flight plan is changed.
The Journal reported that Boeing was made aware of the issue in 2024. In September, the company convened a formal safety review board which has shared its findings with the FAA. The agency in a statement said it would launch a Corrective Action Review Board (CARB) to review the findings and determine whether the glitch is a safety of flight concern.
Boeing has reportedly informed airlines the glitch does not pose a safety concern. Asked whether 737 Max aircraft are safe, Bedford said the “answer is the aircraft are safe.”
“Like you would see with an iPhone or with Microsoft, not every software is perfect,” the administrator said Monday during a news conference. “The issue that we’re looking at right now is the workload component under these more obscure situations and how we feel about that.”
What We Know About the Glitch
Bedford said the software update in question is version 13. CBS News reported that the glitch is linked to versions 14 and 14.1. Per that report, the Max 7 was certified in August with version 14, and the Max 10 used version 14.1 during recent certification testing.
Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines all told the Journal they do not operate any jets with the software update.
The update “fixed a known bug on the vertical navigation system [and] unexpectedly introduced a new bug…on potential go-around situations, where we’re seeing the absence of vertical navigation guidance under those conditions,” Bedford said. He added that the new bug is “smaller” and said that “unlike [the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System], it doesn’t take control away from the pilots.”
“The pilots remain in control of the airplane,” Bedford said. “They train for these scenarios.”
The Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) was linked to two fatal 737 Max 8 crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people and grounded the Max 8 for close to two years.
MCAS was designed to automatically adjust the aircraft’s horizontal stabilizer to push down the nose and prevent pilots from flying at too steep an angle, but operators were given inadequate information about how to disable it. During the two fatal crashes, MCAS activated without pilot input due to false sensor data and repeatedly pushed down the jets’ noses. Crews were unable to identify the problem and recover in time.
“When you do software fixes, you package them up into large articles,” Bedford said. “Airbus does this as well. All aircraft manufacturers do this, try to fix a lot of small problems in one load.”
The Journal reported that Boeing is working on a permanent fix for the glitch by 2028 as well as procedures and guidance to mitigate it in the interim. Bedford said that “GE may try to get this software correction in much quicker” but was not sure if that would take days, weeks, or months.
Boeing told Airways Magazine that it had no further information on whether 737 Max 7 deliveries could proceed with an earlier version of the software, as Southwest and United reportedly requested. Also unclear is whether the Max 10 could be certified with an earlier version.
Delta Air Lines, United, American, and Alaska are among the airlines with orders for the Max 10, whose certification has been delayed for years. Alaska is the intended launch operator.