Boeing Co (NYSE:BA, ETR:BCO)’s safety practices have emerged in the spotlight once more after US regulators warned that 40 airlines could be operating 737 jets with potentially faulty rudder components.
America’s National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Monday that 271 affected parts could be installed on aircraft operated by at least 40 foreign carriers.
This comes after an urgent safety notice it issued last Thursday, which highlighted the potential for rudder control systems to become jammed on the jets.
Some 16 of the parts may still be on US-registered aircraft, according to the NTSB, while up to 75 could have been installed in aftermarket work.
The NTSB has been investigating a February incident which saw rudder pedals become “stuck” on a United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL, ETR:UAL1) 737 MAX 8 flight as it landed at Newark airport.
Boeing said last week it had informed affected operators about the potential “rudder rollout guidance actuator” issue in August.
However, the NTSB hit out at Boeing on Monday for not telling United about such a system on the 737s it had received, adding the failure was “unacceptable”.
“Flight crews may not know what to expect if the rollout guidance actuator fails at low altitude or during landing,” the NTSB said.
Boring has faced intense scrutiny this year after January’s mid-flight door panel blow-out on an Alaska Air 737 MAX, with questions being asked over the manufacturer’s quality control checks.
The foreign operators affected were not disclosed, though Ryanair Holdings PLC (LSE:RYA) has since said it has not been impacted.