The Federal Aviation Administration plans to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for an airworthiness directive (AD) affecting the 737 Max “in the near future,” the agency said in a statement issued Tuesday. The NPRM will provide 45 days for public comment on proposed design changes and crew procedures devised to satisfy safety concerns identified during the investigations following the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines accidents, noted the FAA.

Meanwhile, final planning has begun for the FAA’s Flight Standardization Board (FSB) and the Joint Operations Evaluation Board (JOEB) review of proposed training for flight crews, based on the design change and crew procedures. An updated Flight Standardization Board report will include the results of the evaluation and also allow for public comment. The JOEB will include regulators from Canada, Europe, and Brazil and will evaluate minimum pilot training requirements. The FSB will issue a draft report for public comment addressing the findings of the JOEB, said the FAA.

Other steps include an FAA review of Boeing’s final design documentation to evaluate compliance with all the agency’s regulations. The multi-agency Technical Advisory Board will also review Boeing's submission and issue a final report before a determination of compliance by the FAA.

Plans then call for the FAA to issue a Continued Airworthiness Notification to the International Community (CANIC) providing notice of pending "significant" safety actions and will publish a final AD that addresses the known issues for grounding. The AD will advise operators of required corrective actions before aircraft may re-enter commercial service. Only then will the FAA rescind its grounding order.  

Separately, the FAA said it will retain its authority to issue airworthiness and export certificates for all new 737 Max jets manufactured since the grounding and perform in-person, individual reviews of each aircraft.

“The FAA will not speculate when the work will be completed,” it stressed in the statement. “The agency continues to follow a deliberate process and will take the time it needs to thoroughly review Boeing’s work. We will lift the grounding order only after FAA safety experts are satisfied that the aircraft meets certification standards.”