Aircraft
FAA Review of 737 Max Reaches Final Stages
The Max’s July 10 operational suitability flight marked one of the last procedural hurdles the program must clear before the FAA lifts its grounding.
Boeing 737 Max jets sit in storage in Moses Lake, Washington, in October 2019. (Photo: Barry Ambrose)
Boeing 737 Max jets sit in storage in Moses Lake, Washington, in October 2019. (Photo: Barry Ambrose)

As members of the FAA’s Aircraft Evaluation Group (AEG) and Boeing flight test pilots prepared to perform the 737 Max’s July 10 operational suitability flights between Boeing Field in Seattle and Moses Lake, Washington, industry observers and airline customers alike eagerly awaited the results of three days of certification flying that ended a week and a half earlier. Described by an FAA spokesman as a routine part of any certification effort, the operational suitability flights marked one of the last procedural hurdles the program must clear before the agency issues its final approval for the airplane to return to service.