Anti-ice issue prompts Boeing to seek certification exemptions for 737 Max 7

Boeing has asked the Federal Aviation Administration to exempt its long-delayed 737 Max 7 from several certification rules due to an issue involving engine anti-ice system overheating. The company, which has aimed to begin Max 7 deliveries next year, requested temporary exemptions in November as part of its effort to achieve the type’s certification, according to an FAA notice released on 4 December. Boeing is working on a permanent fix. It remains unclear how the problem might affect the Max 7’s certification timeline but the exemption request makes clear the company needs more sign offs from the FAA. “The… request is a part of the certification process. The FAA will determine when all certification requirements are met,” Boeing tells FlightGlobal. Boeing and the FAA are familiar with the overheating problem, which can affect engine barrels and cowls. Earlier this year, the FAA issued an airworthiness directive addressing the risk in Boeing’s two in-service Max models – the Max 8 and Max 9. That order prohibits some operations and specifies when pilots are to use the anti-ice system. The FAA’s 4 December notice says Boeing requested “a partial exemption from [certain rules] as they relate to the engine nacelle inlet structure and engine anti-ice system” on 737 Max 7s. Boeing seeks the exemption through May 2026. “In November, we made a request to certify the 737-7 with the same inlet design and engine anti-ice system as the in-service 737 Max fleet,” Boeing says. “Under this request, operators would continue measures that were shared with them earlier this year and mandated by the FAA in August to mitigate potential overheating in a portion of the inlet structure under a very specific combination of weather and operational conditions.”<br/>