A federal agency on Monday warned that dozens of foreign plane operators may be using Boeing 737s with suspect rudder control parts that could pose potential safety risks.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)’s chairwoman, Jennifer Homendy, said that 271 impacted parts could be installed on aircraft in service operated by at least 40 foreign air carriers. Sixteen of the impacted parts may still be installed on U.S.-registered aircraft and up to 75 such parts may have been used in aftermarket installation, she wrote in a Sept. 30 letter to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
On Sept. 27, the NTSB issued an “urgent” safety warning for some Boeing 737s, including the Max variant, because there is a “potential for a jammed or restricted rudder control system on some 737 airplanes.” The rudder that the NTSB is referencing controls a plane’s side to side movement of the nose of the aircraft….