US safety board warns over 40 foreign Boeing 737 operators of rudder risks

The US National Transportation Safety Board says more than 40 foreign operators of Boeing 737 aeroplanes may be using planes with rudder components that may pose safety risks. The board last week issued urgent safety recommendations about the potential for a jammed rudder control system on some Boeing 737 aeroplanes after a February incident involving a United Airlines flight . The board also disclosed it has learned two foreign operators 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 transport safety board is investigating an incident 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.



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