The Federal Aviation Administration is once again allowing Boeing to issue airworthiness certificates for some of its 737 MAX and 787 aircraft, beginning on September 29, 2025.
Airworthiness certificates are mandatory proof that shows an aircraft is safe to operate
The FAA’s Organisation Designation Authorisation (ODA) programme works to allow authorised organisations to delegate airworthiness and production certificates for aircraft. The FAA paused Boeing’s permission to issue such certificates for 737 MAX aircraft in 2019, shortly after the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes. Additionally, authorisation for certificates for Boeing 787 aircraft was halted in 2022 due to production quality issues.
In the statement, the FAA said:
‘Safety drives everything we do, and the FAA will only allow this step forward because we are confident it can be done safely. This decision follows a thorough review of Boeing’s ongoing production quality and will allow our inspectors to focus additional surveillance in the production process. The FAA will continue to maintain direct and rigorous oversight of Boeing’s production processes.’
Boeing’s permission to issue airworthiness certificates has been revoked since 2018
Boeing’s Lion Air Flight 610 crash in 2018 claimed the lives of 181 passengers, including 8 crew members. The Boeing 737 MAX 8 crashed into the Java Sea 13 minutes after takeoff, killing everyone on board.
The report, published a year after the crash, indicated that numerous issues should have been reported prior to flying, leading to the plane being grounded. The issues were not fixed, allowing take-off with a sensor within the plane’s nose which had not been properly tested. This sensor, which gave information to the plane’s MCAS, was responsible for preventing the stalling of the 737 MAX.
Numerous pages were found to be missing from Flight 610’s maintenance log, leading to the subsequent crash. The MCAS sensor was found to be at fault, along with other issues documented within the report.
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed in Bishoftu on 10 March 2019. A total of 152 people were on board, including crew and passengers; all were killed when the aircraft crashed a mere six minutes after take-off.
FDRE Ministry of Transport & Logistics, and EAIB, were unable to contact the aircraft via radio and radar contact with Flight 302 after departing from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport. The final report by Ethiopian investigators and NTSB highlights the cause of the crash as ‘the activation of the Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System’. This sensor was a crucial part of the investigation into both the Lion Air Flight crash and the Ethiopian Flight crash.
The NTSB and BEA both contribute the MCAS as the sole contributor to the fault of the crash, alongside human factors and crew actions, which are not mentioned in the EAIB report.
Lion Air’s FDR was found shortly after the crash
To preserve the information which the FDR held, authorities submerged the recorder in fresh water. The device held over 69 hours of flight data; reportedly, the data was damaged but still recoverable.
Flight data recorders hold information on:
- Aircraft Parameters – airspeed, altitude, heading and acceleration
- Position of flight controls, such as the control column and pedals
- Data on the engine – fuel flow, performance and systems used
- Systems such as autopilot status, fuel systems, electrical and hydraulic systems
FDRs are used to provide information in the case of aircraft crashes, by providing data which is used to identify the cause of an accident. By monitoring the information held on the FDR, potential problems can be seen and fixed before major issues.
Although Flight Data Recorders are often called ‘black boxes’, they are painted bright orange for easy visibility at the scene. They are often weather and crash-proof, and fixed with an underwater locator beam. The beam emits a signal which helps searchers track down the FDR.
In 2021, Boeing agreed to pay over $2.5 2.5billion in penalties and compensation in a prosecution agreement
Boeing was charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration’s Aircraft Evaluation Group (FAA AEG), in connection with the FAA AEG’s evaluation of Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft.’
Under the terms agreed upon by Boeing and the Department of Justice, $2.5 2.5billion was claimed in compensation agreements to victims’ families, totalling $500 million and a criminal fine of $243.6 243.6million.
About Boeing
Boeing is a leading global aerospace company, working in more than 150 countries. As well as issuing airworthiness certificates, Boeing manufactures and services commercial planes globally.
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