Up to 40 foreign airlines ‘may be using Boeing 737s with suspect parts’
The US National Transportation Safety Board says more than 40 foreign operators of Boeing 737 airplanes may be using planes with rudder components that may pose safety risks.
A Boeing 737-8FE is seen at the Virgin Australia Airlines terminal at Adelaide Airport in Adelaide, Wednesday, August 28, 2019. Virgin Australia has reported a full-year loss of $349.1 million, saying it will cut 750 corporate and head office positions. (AAP Image/David Mariuz) NO ARCHIVING
The agency on Thursday issued urgent safety recommendations about the potential for a jammed rudder control system on some Boeing 737 airplanes after a February incident involving a United Airlines flight.
The safety board has since disclosed that it learned two foreign operators had suffered similar incidents in 2019 involving rollout guidance actuators.
“We are concerned of the possibility that other airlines are unaware of the presence of these actuators on their 737 airplanes,” chair Jennifer Homendy said on Monday in a letter to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) administrator Mike Whitaker.
The issue is the latest setback to Boeing, which has faced a series of safety questions after a mid-air emergency in January involving a new Alaska Airlines MAX 9 missing four key bolts.
The transport safety board is also investigating the incident in February in which the rudder pedals on a United Boeing 737 MAX 8 were “stuck” in the neutral position during a landing at Newark. There were no injuries to the 161 passengers and crew.
Boeing shares fell 2.7 per cent on Monday.
The safety board said on Thursday there are no 737s on US airlines operating with the affected actuators, which were installed in some 737 MAX and prior-generation 737 NG planes that included an optional landing system.
The board said 271 impact parts may be installed on aircraft in service operated by at least 40 foreign air carriers and 16 may still be installed on US-registered aircraft and up to 75 may have been used in aftermarket installation.
The safety board and FAA did not identify which carriers may be using the parts.
Homendy said she was concerned the FAA “did not take this issue more seriously until we issued our urgent safety recommendation report”.
The FAA said it was taking the safety board’s recommendations seriously and scheduled to do additional simulator testing in October.
The safety board criticised Boeing for failing to inform United Airlines the 737s it received were equipped with actuators “mechanically connected to the rudder control system” and expressed concerns other airlines were unaware of their presence.
“Flight crews may not know what to expect if the rollout guidance actuator fails at low altitude or during landing,” the safety board said, calling the failure “unacceptable”.
Boeing, which declined to comment on Monday, said last week it had informed affected 737 operators of a “potential condition with the rudder rollout guidance actuator” in August.