Boeing 737 Max Under Investigation Over Recent Rudder Failure
US investigators are looking into another incident involving Boeing Co.’s 737 Max airliner, a case in which the plane’s rudder system malfunctioned as pilots were landing.
(Bloomberg) -- US investigators are looking into another incident involving Boeing Co.’s 737 Max airliner, a case in which the plane’s rudder system malfunctioned as pilots were landing.
Pilots on a United Airlines Holdings Inc. 737 Max 8 said the pedals that control the rudder, a key device to help maneuver a plane, became stuck as they touched down at Newark Liberty International Airport on Feb. 6, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report Thursday.
The incident is the latest involving Boeing’s top-selling jetliner, which was grounded worldwide in 2019 following the second of two fatal crashes that killed 346 people. Earlier this year, a panel covering an unused door on a 737 Max 9 blew open in flight, apparently because it wasn’t properly attached at a Boeing factory during final assembly, according to preliminary NTSB findings.
Read More: Boeing Finds 737 Max Bolt Defect; FAA Monitoring Inspections
Earlier 737 models suffered two fatal crashes in the 1990s, which killed 157 people, due to a flaw in the rudder system, the NTSB concluded. The company was forced to redesign the rudder, and that issue has not occurred since.
While it’s unclear if it’s related to the Newark incident, Boeing recommended inspections of Max planes last year to look for loose bolts in the rudder control system.
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