US Transportation Safety Board Issues Urgent Alert About Boeing 737 Rudders

America's National Transportation Safety Board "is issuing 'urgent safety recommendations' for some Boeing 737s..." reports CNN, "warning that critical flight controls could jam." The independent investigative agency is issuing the warning that an actuator attached to the rudder on some 737 NG and 737 MAX airplanes could fail... "Boeing's 737 flight manual instructs pilots confronted with a jammed or restricted rudder to 'overpower the jammed or restricted system (using) maximum force, including a combined effort of both pilots,'" the NTSB said in a news release. "The NTSB expressed concern that this amount of force applied during landing or rollout could result in a large input to the rudder pedals and a sudden, large, and undesired rudder deflection that could unintentionally cause loss of control or departure from a runway," the statement said.
"The FAA said United was the only U.S. airline flying planes with the manufacturing defect in the rudder control system," notes the Seattle Times, "and that United has already replaced the component on nine 737s, the only jets in its fleet where it was identified as faulty. However, the NTSB alert may cause the grounding of some 737 MAXs and older model 737NGs flown by foreign air carriers that have not yet replaced the defective part."

That's not very typical, for the rudder to fall of

[Rademir]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m5qxZm_JqM

Re:That's not very typical, for the rudder to fall

[Drethon]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m5qxZm_JqM

While I know this is a joke, I wish rudder issues in 737s was not something that has happened before. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

Re:

[sjames]

Isn't that the one where in cold conditions the rudder actuator could move opposite to the pilot's command and jam?

It sounds like they never fully fixed the flaw.

Re: That's not very typical, for the rudder to fal

[Kyogreex]

It sounds like they never fully fixed the flaw.

They completely redesigned the unit to prevent that failure mode. This is a different issue entirely and applies only to a small portion of 737s. Still not a good look for Boeing, though.

Re:

[arglebargle_xiv]

So all you need to do is fly the 737's outside the environment, so it's beyond the environment, and you're fine. Nothing out there but sea and birds and fish.

737 MAX needs to have an MAX REFUND aka 100%

[Joe_Dragon]

737 MAX needs to have an MAX REFUND aka 100%

Boeings don't bounce.

[johnnys]

FFS, you'd think that after the 737 rudder hardover problems in the 90s which got so much terrible press for Boeing, that they would at least put the "A" engineering team on anything to do with changes to the rudder on those aircraft and not Larry, Moe and Curly.

At least this time the d**ned rudder is stuck in the middle and not hardover, but pull up your socks, Boeing! You're not making tiddlywinks.

Re:

[Rademir]

How many of Boeing's "A" engineering team members do you think have left over the last 20 years?

It's going to take them a while of, um, turning the rudder to get Boeing flying right again.

Re:

[tlhIngan]

How many of Boeing's "A" engineering team members do you think have left over the last 20 years?

Over 25 years actually. McDonnell-Douglas took over Boeing in 1997.

Fuck that shit

[paul_engr]

Don't make the pilots work harder. Just make the passengers roll the window down and flap their arms. Seems like something that scans with their pull hard "correction" suggestion