Friday, November 8, 2024

Boeing 737 MAX 8s under investigation following ‘Dutch Roll’ and near-miss over Pacific

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Flight safety authorities in the United States are investigating two separate Boeing 737 flight incidents operated by Southwest Airlines.

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on Friday, local time, it is investigating why a Boeing 737 MAX 8 “rolled” during a flight last month.

The NTSB said the plane experienced what the crew said was a “Dutch roll” at 34,000 feet while en route from Phoenix, Arizona to Oakland, California on May 25. Such lateral asymmetric movements are named after a Dutch ice skating technique and can pose serious safety risks.

The board said pilots regained control of the plane, landed it safely and no-one among the 175 passengers and six crew were injured during the incident.

In a subsequent inspection, Southwest found damage to structural components, the NTSB said.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which said damage was seen in a stand-by power-control unit, said it is also investigating and working “closely with the NTSB and Boeing to investigate this event”.

Boeing declined to comment on the Dutch Roll incident, referring questions to Southwest, which said it is participating in the investigation.

Plane dropped 4,400 feet a minute

Separately, the FAA confirmed it is investigating another Southwest 737 MAX 8 passenger flight in April that came about 400 feet (122 metres) of the ocean off the coast of Hawaii after bad weather conditions prompted pilots to bypass a landing attempt at Lihue airport in Kauai.

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