Boeing 737 MAX 10 certification delayed by bug

US air safety regulators are delaying certification of the Boeing 737 MAX 10 while they assess whether a software issue poses a safety risk, Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Bryan Bedford said Monday.

The problem involves a cockpit software update that can cause an automated navigation feature to fail when pilots change their approach to landing. Bedford said pilots are trained to land safely without the automated system, but regulators must assess whether the workload would be excessive in that scenario.

Bedford said MAX planes already certified by the FAA are safe, but added that “we will be delaying the 10” until regulators are satisfied there is no issue. An FAA spokesperson said the agency is working with Boeing and airlines, will convene an advisory board and will take immediate action if it identifies a safety concern.

Boeing said it had informed all 737 operators last month about a software issue in which pilots may not have access to automated flight guidance during a specific landing scenario. The company said engineers are working on a software update to permanently address it.

Boeing Chief Executive Officer Kelly Ortberg had said on September 16 that he expected FAA certification of the 737 MAX 10 “very soon.” Boeing shares finished Monday at $184.39, down 6.9 percent.

Bedford described the new issue as very different from the flaw linked to two deadly MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019. He said pilots remain in control of the aircraft and train for these scenarios.

United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Alaska Airlines said they do not fly aircraft with the problematic new version of the flight management computer software.