IFPTE Asks Biden Administration and Congress to Modify Certification Deadline for 737 MAX-10 and -7, Include Safety Enhancements
This week, IFPTE asked the Biden Administration, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to support Senator Maria Cantwell’s legislative proposal in a year-end omnibus government funding bill in time to modify the December 27, 2022 deadline for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification of the flight crew alerting system for the Boeing MAX-10 and Max-7 passenger airplane.
That deadline was inadvertently created by the Aircraft Certification, Safety and Accountability Act of 2020, legislation that modernizes the aircraft certification process that was passed by Congress in 2020 with IFPTE’s support. Importantly, the proposal offered by Sen. Cantwell — who chairs the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee — also includes a requirement for safety enhancements on all versions of the 737 MAX.
The letter notes members at SPEEA/IFPTE Local 2001 “play a central role in the design, development, and manufacturing of commercial aircraft as well as in ensuring regulatory compliance and communicating to customers and the FAA,” and that these IFPTE members “are committed to the successful operation of the products they work on as well as the success of the U.S. commercial aircraft manufacturing industry. This strategic and export-oriented industry is important for not just the U.S. economy but the global economy and for passengers and air freight customers around the globe.”
IFPTE is also not alone in advancing a modification of the deadline paired with requiring additional safety features on all 737 MAX versions. As the letter notes, “This solution also supports commonality of systems across all MAX variants, a concept which has the support of former National Transportation and Safety Board Chair Robert L. Sumwalt and the unions representing airline pilots in the U.S.“