NTSB issues 'urgent' safety alert on Boeing 737 rudder system

[727Sky]

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued urgent safety recommendations on Thursday to Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in response to the potential for a jammed or restricted rudder control system on some 737 Next-Generation and 737 Max 8 aircraft. 
The rudder controls the side to side movement of the nose of the aircraft, otherwise known as the yaw motion. 
BOEING 737 MAX INCIDENT UNDER INVESTIGATION OVER 'STUCK' RUDDER PEDALS
The agency is in the midst of investigating a February incident in which the rudder pedals on a United Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 were "stuck" in their neutral position during the landing rollout at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. 
   
United Boeing aircraft parked at gates at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey on March 19, 2024. (Photographer: Angus Mordant/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
At the time, the captain had to rely on the nosewheel steering tiller to control the airplane’s direction after touching down, the NTSB said.
The pilots reported that the plane was able to taxi to the gate "without further incident" and all 155 passengers and six crew members were able to deplane. No injuries were reported. 

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We had a different problem with the rudder of the 737 way back over 30+ years ago. You would be flying and the rudder (by itself) would kick left or right for no reason. It was determined after several incidents that it was the yaw dampener causing the hard over. I think one aircraft crashed going into Colo. Springs and even though some said it was due to wind shear most figured it was due to a rudder hard over at slow speed.

OK found it !

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia United Airlines Flight 585 N999UA (left), the aircraft involved in the accident Accident Date March 3, 1991 Summary Loss of control due to rudder hardover[1] Site Widefield Park, near Colorado Springs Municipal Airport, United States 38°44′09.4″N 104°42′42.4″W Total fatalities 25 Total injuries 1 Aircraft Aircraft type Boeing 737-291 Operator United Airlines IATA flight No. UA585 ICAO flight No. UAL585 Call sign UNITED 585 Registration N999UA Flight origin Greater Peoria Regional Airport Stopover Quad City International Airport Last stopover Stapleton International Airport Destination Colorado Springs Municipal Airport Occupants 25 Passengers 20 Crew 5 Fatalities 25 Survivors 0 Ground casualties Ground injuries 1 United Airlines Flight 585 was a scheduled passenger flight on March 3, 1991, from Denver to Colorado Springs, Colorado, carrying 20 passengers and 5 crew members on board. The plane experienced a rudder hardover while on final approach to runway 35 at Colorado Springs Municipal Airport, causing the plane to roll over and enter an uncontrolled dive. All 25 people on board the Boeing 737 were killed on impact. The National Transportation Safety Board, (NTSB), was initially unable to resolve the cause of the crash, but after similar accidents and incidents involving Boeing 737 aircraft, the crash was determined to be caused by a defect in the design of the 737's rudder power control unit.[1]: ix 

I was flying the 727 back then and thankful I was. The 737 also went through a problem with the engines flaming out on approach in a rain shower.. The fix for that was to increase the idle speed of the engines. 

Back in the 2000s I picked up a new Boeing 737-800 from California. I was at 35,000 over El Paso and every CRT went blank/black on the Captains and F.O.'s side. There was a switch you could transfer/bootstrap one side to the other but it did no good to transfer the first officers over to my side for his CRTs were non functional too.

It was a nice star lit night and I could see for hundreds of miles so I told ATC what the problem was as we had no navigation.. No emergency requested by me just don't violate us for getting off an airway. ATC never had to vector us back on course as I had flown that route hundreds of times.. I even shot the ILS 14L into Houston without an ILS !! hahaha

When parked at the gate maintenance and a supervisor came to the aircraft .. I told them what happened and they said that can not happen ! "That may be what Boeing says but here is proof they are wrong !"  ( My rather snarky reply)

They did the switch thingy and popped and checked circuit breakers and were still working on the bird to no avail as I left for home...

Something I believe is we are test pilots when a new aircraft enters into service... Yes the big bugs are usually worked out but the little creepers can cause major problems as time passes... Just look at the DC-10 !

The two 737 Max that became lawn darts and killed everyone would not have happened IMO if the crew had not been trained to be push button pilots. I will go to my grave sincerely believing if I would have been flying either of those aircraft they would not have crashed because of a simple run-a-way trim problem.

I did fly the MD-80 for a few years but I always thought it was a Micky mouse aircraft compared to the 727. The 727 was the iron maiden and she would embarrass you and even try to kill you until you learned her ways; then she was a true trusted friend who would see you through thick or thin and even make you a hero on occasions.

[727Sky]

A list of Boeing incidents... I had no idea there were this many problems happening with Boeing aircraft.