US FAA says some Boeing 737 MAX 7 submissions incomplete, need review

The FAA told Boeing that some key documents submitted as part of the agency's ongoing certification review of the 737 MAX 7 are incomplete and others need a reassessment by the US planemaker. In an Oct. 12 letter to Boeing from FAA official Ian Won seen by Reuters, the agency asked Boeing to reassess some assertions that hazards classified as catastrophic "do not contain human factors assumptions." The FAA also said it was unable to complete some reviews of Boeing submissions "due to missing and incomplete information regarding human factors assumptions in catastrophic hazard conditions." The new letter intensifies concerns about the company's timeline for beginning deliveries of the smaller variant of the best-selling MAX. Boeing faces a late December deadline for the FAA to certify the MAX 7 and MAX 10 or it must meet new modern cockpit alerting standards that could significantly delay the airplanes unless the company receives a waiver from Congress. The requirements were approved by Congress in late 2020 as part of FAA certification reforms after two fatal 737 MAX crashes killed 346 people and led to the bestselling plane's 20-month grounding. Reuters first reported on Oct. 3 Boeing does not anticipate winning approval for the MAX 10 before next summer, citing an FAA sent to Congress. Boeing said Monday it "is focused on meeting all regulatory requirements to certify the 737-7 and safety remains the driving factor in this effort."<br/>