Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg has been on the job for two years and over trhe weekend, we got reports that he may be facing yet another fire to put out, as a software glitch affecting the 737 MAX could complicate the rollout of the 737 MAX 10.
The Wall Street Journal reported Monday afternoon that airlines were notified in August of a previously known glitch that could cause an automated navigation function to cut out during aborted landings.
The report said some airlines have requested deliveries with an older software version that avoids the glitch.
But, now, Boeing must develop a software patch to fix the problem.
Bloomberg reports that certification of Boeing's long-delayed 737 Max 10 variant will be held up by the Federal Aviation Administration over a new software issue, just as the US planemaker was in the final stages of winning approval to begin deliveries to airlines.
The FAA is holding off on certification of the largest member of Boeing’s best-selling narrowbody family until it has determined whether or not a recently flagged software concern constitutes a safety of flight issue, Administrator Bryan Bedford told reporters on Monday at an event near Washington.
News of the FAA approval delay sent Boeing shares down 6.1% in late-afternoon trading, the largest intraday decline since Ocotber 20, 2025.
Ortberg told investors this month that the new jet could be approved "very soon" after FAA regulators cleared the shorter 737 MAX 7 earlier this summer.
Orders for the 737 Max 10 exceed 1,500 aircraft, making it one of the more popular Max variants.
The new MAX 10 is designed to carry more passengers and lower operating costs per seat. It can seat up to 230 passengers, compared with 220 for the MAX 9 and 210 for the highest-capacity MAX 8.
FAA Administrator Bedford said the agency certified the smaller 737 Max 7 with the latest version of the software, which fixed a known issue on the vertical navigation system but unexpectedly introduced a new, but smaller, bug.
“The pilots remain in control of the airplane. They train for these scenarios,” he told reporters. “The issue that we’re looking at right now is the workload component under these more obscure situations and how we feel about that.”
“We haven’t concluded whether this is a safety of flight issue or not,” he added. “But we will be delaying the 10 until we’re satisfied we don’t have an issue here.”
Shares are down 14% this year and have traded sideways since the twin MAX jet crashes, one in 2018 and the other in 2019.
According to Bloomberg, Wall Street analysts tracked by Bloomberg are mostly bullish, with 27 "Buy", 5 "Holds" and zero sells. The 12-month price target of those analysts is $273.58.
Time to get to work, Ortberg.