Abhay Singh
The US National Transportation Safety Board issued a cautionary advisory highlighting the potential risks associated with a defective component found in certain Boeing Co. 737 aircraft.
This flawed component has the potential to lead to a malfunction in the plane’s rudder control system, potentially resulting in a dangerous situation where the system might jam, compromising the aircraft’s safety and overall performance.
About 350 parts are affected by the issue
The NTSB reports that some 350 parts, supplied by Collins Aerospace, a division of RTX Corp., for a number of 737 Max and 737 NG aircraft, are impacted by the problem. In order to resolve the matter, the agency sent urgent safety recommendations to Boeing and the US Federal Aviation Administration.
United Airlines Holdings Inc. is the only US airline that possesses the impacted parts, according to the FAA. According to the agency, the carrier is no longer using the parts, as per its “understanding.”
The NTSB claims that during production, a sealed bearing on the parts—known as actuators—was wrongly installed. According to the government, this made the unsealed area more vulnerable to moisture, which might freeze and restrict the rudder system’s movement.
The problem is Boeing’s most recent nightmare. The company has been in crisis mode since a fuselage panel on a 737 Max airplane blew off shortly after takeoff in January. The aircraft plants near Seattle of the planemaker have been idled due to a contentious labor conflict.
The flaw was discovered during investigation of a Feb. 6 incident
The defect was found, according to the NTSB, during the course of its inquiry into an incident that occurred on February 6th, when United Airlines’ 737 Max 8’s rudder pedals became jammed during landing at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.
The plane was unharmed, and nobody was hurt. According to the NTSB, Boeing has to review its protocols for pilots who come across such situations. Additionally, the government advised the manufacturer to alert crews flying aircraft equipped with the impacted component to the possibility of a jam during flight.
The FAA was encouraged by the safety board to decide if the defective parts on aircraft should be taken out of service and, if so, to instruct operators to do so. Furthermore, the NTSB stated that if the FAA decides removal is necessary, it should notify aviation regulators abroad.
The FAA announced that it would have a review board on Friday to decide on the next course of action after accepting the NTSB’s proposal. The organization indicated that it has been actively following the situation and is a party to the NTSB investigation. In Thursday’s after-hours trade, Boeing’s stock barely moved.
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