U.S. airline safety board raises alarm over foreign carriers that may have Boeing 737 rudder issue

At least forty foreign air carriers could be flying Boeing 737 jets with a rudder control system that has the potential to jam, according to the Chair of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Last week, the NTSB issued urgent safety recommendations for some Boeing 737 Max and 737NG airplanes. In February, an investigation was launched into an incident where the rudder pedals on a United Airlines Boeing 737-8 were “stuck” in neutral during the landing rollout at Newark Liberty International Airport. The plane landed safely.

In a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration Monday, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy slammed the U.S. regulator for “downplaying the urgency of the issue” and not taking it more seriously until the NTSB issued its safety recommendations last week.

“The case for urgent action is even greater since, after we opened our investigation, the FAA became aware of two similar incidents that had occurred with foreign operators in 2019,” Homendy wrote.

Homendy’s letter highlighted how 271 potentially faulty actuators may be installed on aircraft in service and operated by 40 other foreign air carriers and 16 may be installed on U.S.-registered planes. Another 75 may be used in aftermarket installation.

“It's very unusual for the U.S. NTSB to be issuing a letter of this nature,” said Duncan Dee, Former Air Canada Chief Operating Officer.

BNN-Bloomberg, Bell Media’s business news outlet, reported the NTSB chair’s comments on Monday. CTV News reached out to Boeing for reaction, to which the company responded: “We have nothing further to add.” 

CTV News' aviation specialist Phyl Durdey said the component in question is the rollout guidance actuator, which he said is an optional piece of equipment on the aircraft.

“When they pilots are doing an auto-land, it controls the direction of the aircraft when it's on the ground to keep it straight down the middle of the runway,” Durdey said.

CTV News reached out to Air Canada, Westjet, Sunwing and Flair Airlines to ask whether their airplanes use the same rudder control system.

A spokesperson with Westjet confirmed the component identified by the NTSB is not present on any WestJet aircraft.

Flair Airlines said safety is not just a priority but an absolute and constant focus, though it did not answer CTV’s question directly.

“We follow every safety recommendation and airworthiness directive issued by Boeing, the FAA, NTSB, Transport Canada, and other relevant authorities,” Flair Airlines said in a statement. “We also undergo regular external audits and are continuously supervised by Transport Canada, whose rigorous oversight confirms our full compliance with all regulations.”

Air Canada and Sunwing have yet to respond.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said its corrective action review board has met, it is issuing a notice to international airlines and is scheduled to do additional simulator testing in October.

"The FAA and Boeing are investigating. We'll wait for the results of this investigation and won't hesitate to take any necessary steps to keep Canadians safe,” said Laurent de Casanove with the Office of the Minister of Transport.

Officials with Boeing had no further comment Tuesday when CTV News reached out but previously told Reuters that Boeing informed affected operators of a “potential condition with the rudder rollout guidance actuator” in August.

With files from Reuters