WASHINGTON — Boeing has asked airlines to inspect their 737 Max planes for a possible loose screw in the rudder control system, the planemaker and the US Federal Aviation Administration confirmed this week.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA for its acronym in English) said it will “closely monitor” the selective inspections. The agency said Thursday that Boeing issued its inspection guidance to airlines after an international operator found a bolt with a nut missing during routine maintenance. In a separate case, Boeing also discovered an undelivered aircraft that had a nut that was not properly tightened.
“The problem identified on the particular aircraft has been remedied,” the Arlington, Virginia, company said Friday. “As a precautionary measure, we are recommending operators inspect their 737 MAX aircraft and report any findings to us.”
Boeing added that it will continue to update both customers and federal regulators on progress.
The FAA said it will remain in contact with Boeing and affected airlines as inspections are conducted, and will potentially “consider additional actions based on any additional discoveries of loose or missing hardware.”
According to Boeing, there have been no in-flight incidents caused by this problem to date, and it notes that routine crew checks will indicate whether the rudder is malfunctioning before the plane backs away from the gate.
The company added that all planes Boeing plans to deliver going forward will undergo inspection — estimated to last about two hours per plane — before delivery.
US airlines that have 737 Max aircraft in their fleet include United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines. These four airlines told The Associated Press on Friday that they do not expect operational impacts. Southwest, for example, said it was currently performing all of these inspections during routine nightly maintenance.
No timeline was provided for inspections of each airline, but Alaska said it hoped to complete the process in the first half of January.
Boeing’s 737 Max planes were grounded around the world for 20 months after two crashes in 2018 and 2019 killed a total of 346 people. The investigations focused on an automated flight control system that pushed the plane’s nose down based on readings from faulty sensors. Boeing did not inform pilots or airlines about the system until after the first accident.
The FAA, which also faced criticism for the way it approved Max planes before these deadly crashes, has since moved to provide a more detailed certification process for large planes and required safety disclosures.
Source: With information from AP
