The acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration said he is not currently considering lifting the production cap of 38 planes per month on Boeing’s 737 MAX.
The cap was imposed after a January 2024 mid-air emergency involving an Alaska Airlines Boeing jet missing four key bolts.
“Not at this time,” Acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau told reporters after a U.S. House hearing. He also said the agency is not planning to change its current policy of inspecting all Boeing 737 MAX and 787 Dreamliner jets before issuing airworthiness certificates, a process that was previously delegated to Boeing.
Last week, the FAA extended a program by three years allowing Boeing to perform certain tasks on behalf of the agency, including inspections. The FAA said the planemaker had made improvements.
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said the company is confident it can raise production of the 737 MAX to 42 aircraft per month. He said future rate increases are included in Boeing’s plan, typically in steps of five planes every six months.
In May 2022, the FAA renewed Boeing’s Organization Designation Authorization for three years, instead of the five years Boeing requested, to ensure the company made required changes.
Congress passed major changes in December 2020 to the FAA’s airplane certification process after two fatal 737 MAX crashes that killed 346 people and led to the plane’s grounding for 20 months.
The Office of Inspector General said that in 2023 FAA officials moved to allow Boeing’s ODA to resume issuing final airworthiness certificates for the 737 and 787. Before senior FAA officials could approve that request, the mid-air incident involving Alaska Airlines took place.
