Aircraft certifications could be getting faster in the United States.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy met with the CEOs of aerospace companies including Boeing and GE on how to reform and streamline the certification process, according to Reuters.
New aircraft typically take five or more years to certify through a multi-tiered testing process.
"If we can't move at a different pace in certification, we're going to lose. China is going to beat us. We're going to lose not because you don't have the innovation," Duffy said in September, according to Reuters.
Duffy’s push comes as major airframers like Boeing have seen years of certification delays on their newest aircraft models, including the 777x, 737 Max 10, and 737 Max 7, which was just approved in August.
A major reason for the slow-down in approvals for new planes were FAA reforms to the certification process following two crashes aboard Boeing’s 737 Max 8 planes that killed 346 people in 2019 and 2020.
Those crashes were caused by a safety system called MCAS, key details of which Boeing did not disclose to the FAA during the certification process, according to the DOT inspector general report on the matter in 2020.
The inspector general’s report also showed that Boeing withheld details about the system to move the new plane through certification more quickly.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford has also said the agency is looking at new options “to see how they can streamline the process,” according to Reuters.
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