FAA may approve Boeing 737 MAX 10 as airlines weigh software concerns

The Federal Aviation Administration may be nearing certification of Boeing’s 737 MAX 10 after a final Type Certification Board meeting, according to reports cited by djsaviation.net and Simple Flying. The timing and outcome remain uncertain: djsaviation.net described approval as imminent, while Simple Flying said certification could come as soon as the following week.

Neither report states that the FAA has issued a final approval. Djsaviation.net said The Air Current reported that the FAA met with Boeing and the Type Certification Board and that the discussions were positive. The outlet dates the meeting to Friday 16 October 2026.

Simple Flying also described a successful final board meeting on Friday, without giving a calendar date in its excerpt. The FAA’s potential decision is therefore the central pending step described in these reports, rather than a completed certification. The coverage also raises a separate delivery issue involving software configurations.

Simple Flying cited The Air Current’s reporting that US airlines have avoided U14 for years because of several separate software problems. Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines have confirmed that none of their aircraft currently in service use U14 or U14.1.

That information concerns existing fleets; it does not establish that the FAA’s certification decision depends on those configurations. United has separately told Simple Flying that it is not taking deliveries of new aircraft equipped with U14 or U14.1.

A source quoted by The Air Current characterized U13 as “the lesser of the two evils.” The cited reporting does not explain the individual software problems or establish that every airline would refuse a MAX 10 delivery under the same conditions.

The distinction matters: possible FAA certification and airline acceptance of aircraft with particular software are related in the coverage but are not presented as the same decision. Boeing chief executive Kelly Ortberg said that completing final flight testing in recent months was a positive step toward final documentation.

Djsaviation.net noted that documentation is a demanding part of the process but is distinct from putting the aircraft through flight testing. The excerpt does not provide further detail about the tests or state that the FAA has completed its review. The two reports emphasize different parts of the story.

Djsaviation.net centers the FAA’s reported progress toward approval and the board meeting; Simple Flying foregrounds airline concerns about U14 and U14.1 alongside the possible certification. These are complementary details rather than incompatible accounts of the same fact.

The Jerusalem Post headline also frames the prospect of certification alongside possible airline refusals, while UA.NEWS and Yahoo Finance Australia headlines report that approval may be near; those headlines do not supply additional detail about the FAA process or airline decisions.

United CEO Scott Kirby said in August that the carrier expects its first MAX 10 around July 2027. That forecast signals United’s stated delivery expectation, not a confirmed delivery date or a decision about accepting a specific aircraft configuration.

The reports leave the immediate outcome contingent on the FAA’s certification decision and on airlines’ stated positions toward software-equipped aircraft.