The Indian aviation watchdog has introduced new safety measures for Boeing 737 aircraft after concerns over the potential risks with its rudder control systems. An aircraft rudder is a primary tool that controls the movement of the jet.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked airlines operating Boeing 737 aircraft to conduct safety risk assessments and cease some types of instrument landing.

“All flight crews are to be informed through a circular/advisory regarding the possibility of a Jammed or restricted Rudder control system. Appropriate mitigations must be communicated,” DGCA said in a statement.

Pilots must be trained to recognise and handle this issue, and some advanced landing techniques will be temporarily stopped, as part of the safety measures.

The safety measures will affect auto-landing operations, especially during winter when low-visibility landings are more common. No landings in low visibility/fog or poor weather will be possible until the issue is resolved.

This directly impacts Air India Express, Akasa, SpiceJet, and the Indian Air Force which operate different variants of the Boeing 737 jetliner.

Boeing 737 is a legacy aircraft widely operated in India. It is part of the VIP squadron and even the Prime Minister and the President fly on it.

The DGCA statement said it has taken into cognizance of a report by the US National Transportation Safety Board that highlighted safety concerns involving Boeing 737 airplanes equipped with a certain type of rudder control system.

The NTSB had Thursday issued safety recommendations about the potential risk of jammed rudder controls on some 737 aircraft. The report followed a February incident in which rudder pedals were jammed in the neutral position on a 737 Max 8 aircraft while landing in Newark. There were no injuries.

Boeing is yet to comment on the report.

New Delhi:

In a stunning admission before a US congressional panel, Boeing’s CEO Dave Calhoun admitted that the aerospace giant has retaliated against whistleblowers, contradicting its publicly stated policies.

Mr Calhoun’s acknowledgement came during a tense Senate hearing aimed at probing Boeing’s safety practices following two fatal crashes involving the 737 MAX aircraft in 2018 and 2019. These tragedies led to 346 deaths and exposed severe flaws in Boeing’s manufacturing and oversight processes. 

Moment Of Reckoning

Senator Richard Blumenthal, who chaired the hearing, was unyielding in his critique of Boeing’s leadership. “Boeing stands at a moment of reckoning and an opportunity to change a broken safety culture,” he said.

Watch Senator Hawley COOK the ass of the Boeing CEO.
Included pic of a cool cat cause he’s awesome pic.twitter.com/qHXSHTlCEo

— DR22 Ω (@DejaRu22) June 19, 2024

Mr Blumenthal revealed that the sub-committee overseeing the investigation had received testimony from over a dozen whistleblowers, many of whom described a workplace where safety concerns were often dismissed or punished.

When asked how many Boeing employees had been fired for retaliating against whistleblowers, Mr Calhoun confessed, “Senator, I don’t have that number on the tip of my tongue. But I know it happens.”

Whistleblower Testimonies

The hearing featured testimonies from current and former Boeing employees who painted a troubling picture of a company prioritising profits over safety. Among them was engineer Sam Salehpour, who alleged that the Dreamliner could suffer a catastrophic accident due to flawed manufacturing processes. 

Mr Salehpour, who worked at Boeing for nearly two decades compared a potential incident to repeatedly bending a paper clip. “You do it once or twice… it doesn’t break. But it breaks at some time,” he said in April this year. 

A memo from the sub-committee detailed new whistleblower complaints. One particularly alarming account came from Sam Mohawk, who alleged that Boeing ordered improperly stored parts to be hidden from federal aviation inspectors. According to Mr Mohawk, this was allegedly done to avoid costly increases in storage capacity and staff

Dave Calhoun’s Defence

Mr Calhoun began his testimony with an apology to the families of the victims of the 737 MAX crashes, stating, “Our culture is far from perfect, but we are taking action and making progress.” Despite his assurances, Mr Calhoun’s inability to provide specific numbers on whistleblower retaliation cases drew sharp criticism from lawmakers.

Republican Senator Josh Hawley, from the state of Missouri, accused Mr Calhoun of putting profit above safety. He slammed Mr Calhoun’s $33 million compensation package and questioned his leadership, saying, “You’re the problem. And I just hope to God that you don’t destroy this company before it can be saved.” 

Mr Hawley said it was a “travesty” that Mr Calhoun was still in his job and why he is not resigning.

“Senator, I’m sticking this through,” Mr Calhoun responded.

Washington:

A United Airlines-operated Boeing 737 MAX rolled onto the grass and off the runway at George Bush Airport in Houston early on Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.

The National Transportation Safety Board and FAA will investigate. The 160 passengers and six crew were not injured. They left the plane and were bused to the terminal, the FAA and United said. The plane had departed from Memphis.

BREAKING: A Boeing, $BA, 737 rolled off the runway in Houston this morning after issues with its landing gear, with no injuries, per ABC: pic.twitter.com/ECywg1aLUz

— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) March 8, 2024

United said it will move the aircraft from the taxiway as soon as it is able and will “work with the NTSB, FAA and Boeing to understand what happened.”

This is the third incident this week involving a United Boeing airplane. Boeing and United shares were both down 1% on Friday.

A day earlier, a United-operated Boeing 777-200 bound for Japan lost a tire after takeoff from San Francisco and was diverted to Los Angeles where it landed safely. The plane had 249 people on board.

On Monday, a United Boeing 737 bound for Florida departing Houston returned to the airport shortly after takeoff after the engine ingested some plastic bubble wrap that was on the airfield prior to departure, the airline said.

Social media posts showed flames coming out of the engine.

Separately, the NTSB said on Thursday it is investigating a Boeing 737 MAX 8 flight last month that experienced “stuck” rudder pedals after it touched down on the runway for its landing.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)