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The Federal Aviation Administration issued a safety alert to airlines regarding Boeing 737 airplanes equipped with certain rudder components. The air-safety regulator said Tuesday the operators of Boeing 737 NG and 737 MAX airplanes with SVO-730 rudder rollout guidance actuators should instruct flight crews that the rudder control system could potentially become jammed or restricted in flight or during landing. Boeing said in a statement it has reminded operators of the proper actions that flight crews should take if they encounter rudder restriction, and has also shared technical guidance from its supplier.

CNN — The National Transportation Safety Board is issuing “urgent safety recommendations” for some Boeing 737s—including the embattled 737 MAX line— warning that critical flight controls could jam. The independent investigative agency is issuing the warning that an actuator attached to the rudder on some 737 NG and 737 MAX airplanes could fail. The move comes after the NTSB investigated a February incident where the pilots of a United Airlines MAX 8 landing in Newark reported their rudder pedals “stuck” in the neutral position. The warning is the latest black eye for Boeing. The company has seen a string of...

Boeing has been forced to ground its entire 777X test fleet due to a failed engine component - the latest in a series of blows to the embattled manufacturer. The 777X, Boeing's latest and most state-of-the-art aircraft, first took to the sky in 2020 but faced delays in certification by the Federal Aviation Administration... The FAA this summer gave the plane the go-ahead for test flights needed before launching passenger service. Boeing had planned to deliver the fleet in 2025, but the discovery of a failed component connected to the jet's engine has some buyers not expecting the jet until...

Tracking data from Flightradar24 cited by CNN showed the plane was just 150 feet above the ocean when it was about five miles out from Tampa International Airport. A Southwest representative confirmed the flight was then diverted to Fort Lauderdale and said the airline was "following its robust safety management system and is in contact with the Federal Aviation Administration to understand and address any irregularities." "Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees," they said in a statement to Business Insider. The cause of the incident has not been confirmed. The FAA told...

A Southwest Airlines jet that experienced “Dutch roll” while flying at 34,000 feet had undergone routine maintenance before being parked outside during a strong storm, after which pilots noticed unusual movements of the plane‘s rudder pedals. Following the incident in May, Southwest Boeing mechanics found “substantial” damage to the plane’s tail, where the rudder is located. However, the National Transportation Safety Board said it had not determined when the damage occurred. According to data from Flightradar24.com, the Boeing 737 Max was grounded for more than a month before resuming flights last week. “Dutch roll” is a swaying, rhythmic combination of...

Boeing will plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge tied to the 737 Max crashes, months after a near-catastrophe in January prompted the Justice Department to revisit a 2021 settlement that protected Boeing from prosecution.

A Korean Air flight to Taiwan was forced to return to Incheon airport west of Seoul after a sudden depressurization on the plane, a Boeing 737 Max 8, the transport ministry said Tuesday. The ministry said 19 of the 133 people aboard the flight Saturday were sent to hospitals due to ear pain and nosebleeds, but none suffered serious injuries. Separately, Malaysia Airlines said one of its flights en route to Bangkok on Monday made a U-turn back to Kuala Lumpur after the Airbus A-330 experienced a “pressurization issue.” Malaysia Airlines said its pilots initiated an emergency descent even though...

....50 minutes into the flight, the B737 MAX experienced a sudden uncontrolled decompression. According to FL360aero, the message “pressure s ystem (pressure control function of the aircraft) abnormality” was displayed while flying over Jeju Island. As per standard procedure during a sudden loss of cabin pressurization, the flight crew made an emergency descent. According to data from the flight tracking website Flightradar24, the aircraft dropped about 26,900 feet in around 15 minutes. The aircraft, carrying 125 passengers, was able to return to ICN Airport at approximately 19:40 local time. One of the passengers onboard the flight captured footage inside the...

A Boeing 737 aircraft suddenly plummeted to less than 500 feet of the ground over Oklahoma, terrifying residents who feared the jet was going to crash. Southwest Airlines Flight 4069 was still nine miles away from Will Rogers World Airport just after midnight on Wednesday, when records show it dived to between 400 and 500 feet as it flew over a high school in the City of Yukon. Doorbell camera footage showed the Boeing 737 MAX-8 then hovering above houses, before it flies out of frame. A resident was startled awake by the plane's engine and wondered if the aircraft...

FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker says Boeing is in the beginning stage of fixing safety issues.. The head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Thursday that Boeing has a "long road" ahead of it as the planemaker readies a plan aimed at assuring regulators it is adequately addressing safety concerns in its manufacturing. The FAA in February ordered Boeing to develop a comprehensive plan to correct quality-control issues after a door plug flew off a 737 MAX-9 mid-flight during an Alaska Airlines flight the month before. Boeing is slated to deliver that plan on May 30. ... FAA Administrator Mike...

Boeing violated a 2021 settlement that protected it from criminal charges tied to the fatal 737 Max crashes, opening the company up to potential U.S. prosecution, the Department of Justice said Tuesday. Federal prosecutors said in a court filing in Texas they are still determining “how it will proceed in this matter” and that Boeing will have 30 days to respond. In January 2021, Boeing agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle a conspiracy charge with the Justice Department. After a roughly two-year probe, the DOJ accused the company of concealing information about its Max plane that had been involved...

An Alaska Airlines flight from Honolulu to Anchorage, Alaska, had to turn around after a malfunctioning bathroom sink flooded the cabin of the Boeing 737 Max 9 jet, according to reports. The flight took off at 10:16 p.m. Friday, according to FlightAware. When the water began leaking about 90 minutes into the flight, the captain of Alaska Airlines Flight 828 decided to turn around, according to the Daily Mail. The plane landed back at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport two hours and 18 minutes after initial takeoff. "There was probably two to four inches of standing water that swooshed out...

Continuing our ongoing coverage of Boeing's "flying junkyards," the investigation into the blowout of a door plug on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 over Portland last month is still ongoing. FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker said yesterday that the investigation will take six weeks to complete in full and the company is roughly halfway through the process. But Boeing is already releasing some of their preliminary findings, including photographs of some of the inspections being done. One of these photos has led investigators to confirm earlier suspicions that four main bolts used to fasten the door plug in place were not even...

Boeing Co. , said on Sunday it will have to do more work on about 50 undelivered 737 MAX airplanes, potentially delaying some near-term deliveries, after its supplier Spirit AeroSystems , discovered two mis-drilled holes on some fuselages. Boeing confirmed the findings in response to a Reuters query after industry sources said an "edge margin", or spacing problem, had been found in holes drilled on a window frame on some jets. Boeing, which has been under fire from regulators and airlines since the Jan. 5 blowout of a door plug on a 737 MAX 9, said safety was unaffected and...

Boeing has had a tumultuous month with a series of public relations disasters that sunk its market price and placed lives at risk. It began when a piece of a door panel blew off a 737 Max 9 aircraft on a routine flight from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California. It led to a temporary grounding of the 737 Max 9, which, upon further inspection, was discovered to have numerous issues, not least being that bolts needed to be tightened.The Federal Aviation Administration later issued an indefinite grounding of the 737 Max 9 and an audit of Boeing’s manufacturing process. This...

Boeing's 737 Max 9 planes could be back in the air as soon as Friday despite serious safety concerns among airlines and passengers - with American Airlines' boss warning Thursday that the aircraft maker needs to 'get its act together'. The FFA approved an inspection and maintenance process that will allow the Max 9 aircrafts to return to service - but said it will not approve any requests from Boeing to expand production of its killer jets. All Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft were grounded following the harrowing Alaska Airlines blowout that forced an emergency landing when a door fell...

After an emergency exit-sized hole opened in the side of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 at 16,000 feet, a separate chaotic episode erupted when the cockpit door mysteriously flew open. That meant the pilots were subjected to the deafening wind and noise from the back of the plane—and also made the cockpit accessible to anyone inclined to try to force their way in. What the flight crew didn’t know at the time, federal investigators said Monday, was that it was supposed to happen that way. What the flight crew didn’t know at the time, federal investigators said Monday, was that it...

Update: United Airlines confirm inspections have found loose bolts on the 737 MAX 9 “Since we began preliminary inspections on Saturday, we have found instances that appear to relate to installation issues in the door plug – for example, bolts that needed additional tightening.”

Boeing on Thursday warned it will likely have to reduce deliveries of its 737 Max airplane in the near term because of a problem with a part made by supplier Spirit AeroSystems . Boeing said its supplier informed the company a “non-standard” manufacturing process was used on two fittings in aft fuselages. It said the issue affects certain 737 Max 8 planes, the company’s most popular model, with customers including American Airlines and Southwest Airlines . It also affects certain 737 Max 7, the 737 8200 and P-8 planes. Boeing said the problem was not an “immediate safety of flight...

"In an unusual proceeding for a corporation accused of a crime, Boeing officials were arraigned Thursday in a federal courtroom in Fort Worth for the company's actions leading to two plane crashed in Indonesia and Ethiopia in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 passengers and crew. Boeing was charged with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government for allegedly skirting safety rules when introducing its 737 MAX jets. The arraignment before US District Judge Reed O'Connor took place two years after the company entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice..." Texas Tribune Story 1/26/2023 When folks...