FAA investigating substantial damage to Boeing 737 Max in ‘Dutch roll’ incident

[reader]

From CNBC

A federal investigation is underway into how a Southwest Airlines passenger jet suffered substantial damage after experiencing a rare phenomenon known as a Dutch roll at almost 38,000 feet.

Flight N8825Q, a Boeing 737 Max carrying 175 passengers and six crew, was traveling from Phoenix to Oakland on May 25 when its tail began to yaw or wag left and right while the aircraft’s wings rocked side to side.

Dutch roll is the name given to this potentially dangerous lateral asymmetric movement, supposedly inspired by the movements of ice skaters.

The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement Thursday that it was working with Boeing and the National Transportation Safety Board to investigate the cause of the fault.

Boeing declined to comment.

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From Aviation Pros

The crew of a Southwest Airlines flight from Phoenix to Oakland had to regain control of a Boeing 737-8 Max aircraft after it experienced a rare, midair Dutch roll last month, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, prompting the plane to be taken out of service.

But what exactly is the phenomenon?

A Dutch roll, named after the movements of traditional ice skaters, is when an airplane sways back and forth both laterally, called "rolling," and directionally, called "yawing," according to Boeing.

In other words, the plane's wing tips tilt up and down on either side (the rolling), while its nose and tail wobble left to right (the yawing).

The plane's nose makes a figure-eight motion as a result of the out-of-phase oscillations, according to the FAA. The rocking movement can cause airsickness.

The oscillations will continue until the movement eventually corrects itself or a pilot corrects it, according to Boeing.

Pilots are trained to handle the motion, which can be caused by any "asymmetric input," like wind or an action by the pilot. In the Southwest case, a preliminary inspection by the FAA found damage to a unit that supplies backup power to the rudder, which officials indicated could have led to the May 25, incident, the Associated Press reported.

[reader]

From Thestreet.com

It seems that every week, Boeing  (BA) sinks deeper into controversy as it undergoes multiple investigations from the U.S. government on its safety and quality control practices following a series of startling incidents involving its planes, which multiple airlines use.

This week, a current Boeing employee has just made an unsettling accusation. New Boeing whistleblower Sam Mohawk, a Boeing Quality Assurance investigator, claims that Boeing was “losing hundreds of non-conforming parts” at Boeing’s facility in Renton, Wash., where the 737 Max jet is manufactured, according to a recent complaint filed with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

He claimed in the complaint that he feared that the faulty parts were being installed on the 737s, and that it could lead to a “catastrophic event.”

Boeing’s 737 Max jet production was put under a microscope earlier this year after an Alaska Airlines flight, which was a Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft, was forced to make an emergency landing after a door plug blew off of the aircraft mid-flight. 

Mohawk also alleges that in June 2023, shortly after Boeing was notified by the Federal Aviation Administration that its Renton plant would be inspected, 80% of the 60 nonconforming parts that the facility had at the time were hidden from FAA inspectors, and some of those parts ended up being “lost completely.”

Mohawk also claims that the facility had an “overwhelming number of nonconforming parts” which led to his superiors instructing him and other workers to “eliminate” the records that revealed that a part was nonconforming.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[vinapu]

8 hours ago, reader said:

From Thestreet.com

It seems that every week, Boeing  (BA) sinks deeper into controversy as it undergoes multiple investigations from the U.S. government on its safety and quality control practices following a series of startling incidents involving its planes, which multiple airlines use.

 

this happens when management engineering company is taken over by accountants and profit becomes main goal.

[Keithambrose]

21 hours ago, vinapu said:

this happens when management engineering company is taken over by accountants and profit becomes main goal.

Doesn't that apply to most companies  these days?