The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration completed a key safety review Friday on Boeing’s (BA.N) long-delayed 737 MAX 10, with formal certification now expected as soon as next week, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Approval would mark the final certification milestone for the entire MAX family, potentially unlocking a substantial delivery backlog and providing a meaningful revenue catalyst for a manufacturer that has endured years of regulatory and reputational setbacks.
Key Takeaways
- FAA completed its safety review Friday; MAX 10 approval expected within days.
- A software bug had delayed certification as recently as late September.
- MAX 10 is the last unverified variant in Boeing’s best-selling narrow-body family.
Market Reaction & Context
Boeing shares fell nearly 7% on September 28 when FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford disclosed that a newly discovered software glitch would delay MAX 10 certification, underscoring how sensitive BA.N remains to any regulatory signal 1. By comparison, the broader S&P 500 Aerospace & Defense sub-index held relatively flat over the same session, highlighting the idiosyncratic risk still priced into Boeing’s stock.
The latest development – that the FAA wrapped its review by October 16 – represents a sharp reversal of that negative momentum 2. Investors tracking the ongoing regulatory scrutiny of the MAX platform will note that a clean certification would remove one of the last outstanding compliance overhangs.
Background: The Software Stumble
The path to approval has been anything but linear. In late September, Boeing flagged a vertical-navigation software glitch affecting certain go-around landing procedures – situations where pilots must abort an approach and re-align for another attempt 1. Bedford said at the time that the issue did not strip pilots of control but raised concerns about increased cockpit workload during a missed approach.
“We haven’t concluded whether this is a safety-of-flight issue or not, but we will be delaying the 10 … until we’re satisfied that we don’t have an issue here,” Bedford said on September 28 1. The FAA added that “safety dictates the certification timeline.”
Bedford noted the bug was introduced inadvertently when Boeing repaired a prior software defect – an engineering setback that compounded investor anxiety. The FAA certified the MAX 7, the smallest variant in the family, in August, using what it described as the most current software version, which was itself subject to the same evaluation 1.
Strategic Stakes for Boeing
The MAX 10 is the largest and highest-capacity variant in the narrow-body family, originally slated for first deliveries in 2020 before safety crises and production problems repeatedly pushed back the timeline. Airlines including United Airlines had been reconfiguring cabin plans for the aircraft while awaiting regulatory clearance 1.
CEO Kelly Ortberg told investors earlier in October that certification was expected “very soon,” a signal that Boeing’s internal timeline had already shifted back toward optimism before the FAA completed its Friday review. Formal approval would allow Boeing to begin converting existing order commitments into recognized revenue – a material consideration given the company’s prolonged cash burn.
What Comes Next
The FAA has not publicly confirmed a precise approval date, and sources cautioned the timeline remains contingent on final administrative steps. Boeing said it continues “to follow the lead of the FAA as we work through the certification process.” 1
Analysts and sector investors will now focus on how quickly Boeing can ramp MAX 10 deliveries and whether the certification resolves any residual questions about the MAX 7 software standard applied across the broader fleet. U.S. carriers said they were unaffected by the software issue, in part because legacy software versions remained available as an interim option 1.
Conclusion
If the FAA issues the type certificate on schedule, it would close a regulatory chapter that has weighed on Boeing for the better part of a decade. The central question for investors now shifts from whether the MAX 10 gets certified to how fast production and delivery rates can normalize – and whether Boeing’s balance sheet can absorb the transition period.
Not investment advice. For informational purposes only.
References
1Leslie Josephs (Sep 28, 2026). “Boeing 737 Max 10 certification delayed by software issue, FAA says”. CNBC. Retrieved October 16, 2026.
2Reuters (Oct 16, 2026). “FAA set to approve Boeing 737 MAX 10 as soon as next week, sources say”. Reuters. Retrieved October 16, 2026.