NTSB Criticizes FAA For Not Taking Safety Seriously Enough

by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 3:55 PM ET, Tue October 1, 2024

The National Transportation Safety Board has issued a letter harshly criticizing the Federal Aviation Administration for not taking safety recommendations seriously enough with regard to a rudder control component on some Boeing 737s.

The two-page letter, signed by NTSB board chair Jennifer Homendy, addresses the potential for the rudder control system on some Boeing 737 airplanes to become non-functional in certain cold weather conditions.

The NTSB issued “urgent safety recommendations” last week about the issue to both The Boeing Company and to the FAA, Homendy said in her letter.

“I remain concerned that the FAA, as a whole, did not take this issue more seriously until we issued our urgent safety recommendation report, despite the risk of loss of control of an aircraft or departure from the runway occurring due to a jammed or restricted rudder control system, caused by a defect in certain rollout guidance actuators,” Homendy wrote in the September 30 letter.

As you know, these recommendations were issued as a result of our ongoing investigation of the rudder pedal anomaly involving a United Boeing 737-8 that occurred while landing at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, on February 6, 2024,” added Homendy.

The NTSB chair added that she is “disappointed that it does not appear that the FAA has initiated urgent actions to address the risk of jammed rudder controls in the 6 months since” a preliminary NTSB report on this incident was issued.

After NTSB opened its investigation into the February 6, 2024 flight incident, it was discovered by the FAA that two similar incidents had occurred with planes belonging to foreign operators, which Homendy said should have underscored the urgency of the safety issue.

The NTSB letter reveals that the FAA has apparently been “downplaying the urgency” of the issue including maintaining that the impacted units are no longer in service.

NTSB however, says this is not accurate.

“Boeing’s August 23, 2024, Multi Operator Message stated that 353 affected actuator units were delivered to Boeing starting in February 2017,” continues the NTSB letter. “Of these 353 units, we understand that 73 have not yet been installed on airplanes. Another 271 affected actuators that may be installed on aircraft in service operated by at least 40 foreign air carriers; 16 may still be installed on US-registered aircraft.”

In addition, Collins sent 75 affected actuators directly to operators for aftermarket installation; some of these may be spares, while others may currently be on airplanes in service, says NTSB.

Boeing was also the focus of criticism in the NTSB letter.

“Equally concerning is Boeing’s failure to inform United Airlines that the 737 airplanes it had delivered to the airline were equipped with these actuators—and that the actuators were mechanically connected to the rudder control system,” the letter states, adding: “We are concerned of the possibility that other airlines are unaware of the presence of these actuators on their 737 airplanes. “

What’s more, says NTSB, flight crews may not know what to expect if the rollout guidance actuator fails at low altitude or during landing and rollout.

“Not making operators fully aware of the installed systems and equipment on the airplanes delivered to them is unacceptable and cannot continue to be tolerated,” says the letter.

The FAA meanwhile, said it had addressed the issue and was not aware of any affected parts being in service at U.S. airlines, according to USA Today.

The agency issued its own statement after the NTSB letter was made public.

"The FAA is moving quickly to convene a call with the affected civil aviation authorities to ensure they have the information they need from the FAA including any recommended actions," the statement said. "The FAA will be issuing a Continued Airworthiness Notification to the International Community (CANIC). The FAA is also scheduled to do additional simulator testing in October."