Boeing 737: the rudder of certain planes must be checked “urgently” demands an American regulator

A new setback for Boeing. The American Transportation Safety Agency (NTSB) on Thursday issued “urgent safety recommendations” concerning the rudder system of certain Boeing 737s due to a risk of blocking or hindering part of the device. This alert once again calls into question the quality of these planes since the crash of two 737 MAX 8s in 2018 and 2019, which left 346 dead, then by a series of manufacturing problems throughout 2023.

This recommendation follows an incident that occurred on February 6 on a Boeing 737 MAX 8 of the American company United Airlines, whose rudder pedals had stuck in the neutral position while it was taxiing on the tarmac after landing at Newark Airport, near New York. To avoid a runway excursion, the captain had to use the front landing gear controls to control the direction of the plane, which was not damaged, explains the NTSB. None of the 155 passengers and crew members were injured.

The equipment in question: a guidance actuator manufactured by the American company Collins Aerospace (a subsidiary of RTX) was found to contain a defective component: a poorly installed seal in the assembly allowed moisture to infiltrate which, “in certain circumstances, can freeze and thus limit the movements of the rudder device,” details the press release.

Collins informed Boeing that more than 353 actuators delivered to it since February 2017 contained this defect. They were installed on the tail fin of certain 737 NG and 737 MAX, the current version of the 737 family. United is believed to be the only company to have received planes with this defect.

A meeting on Friday

However, the FAA air regulator must now determine whether these defective actuators must be removed from planes still in operation. He said in a separate statement that he had been following the NTSB investigation “closely” and had planned a meeting as early as Friday to “determine next steps.”

In addition to these recurring technical problems, the company which is renegotiating its collective agreement is in the grip of a strike in several manufacturing plants. New management under the leadership of the new boss, Kelly Ortberg, who arrived on August 8, is trying to put the house in order.