FAA says 737 Max operator discovered loose bolts in rudder control system on plane

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that the pilot of a 737 Max aircraft discovered a bolt in the plane’s rudder control system had become loose.

FAA Said that received Last December, an operator reported missing nuts, washers and “migrated” bolts in the system.

Boeing then inspected all of its 737 Max 8, 737 Max 8-200, and 737 Max 9 aircraft and said it found another “undertorqued nut in the same location.”

The FAA’s comments follow the agency’s upcoming airworthiness directive, which will require a “one-time inspection” of systems found to have loose bolts on certain Max aircraft. The directive is expected to be announced on Monday.

The agency’s instructions follow an incident last month when a panel blocking an unused emergency exit door was blown off during an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 flight from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California, causing an “explosive decompression.” This is based on the following. .

Lawyers for more than 20 passengers on the Alaska Airlines flight that experienced the explosion say the plane was “essentially destroyed” after a preliminary National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report found bolts were missing from the plane. “It was a ticking time bomb,” he said.

“The plane was delivered by Boeing to Alaska Airlines without four critical bolts, meaning the plane was essentially a ticking time bomb. This door plug could blow at any moment,” Mark said.・Attorney Lindquist spoke on FOX News’ “Fox & Friends.”

The NTSB’s report Tuesday found that four bolts that were supposed to help secure the Max 9 aircraft’s door plug were missing before the explosion occurred. Investigators said the bolt was to stop the door plug from rising.

“Overall, the observed damage pattern and contact damage and deformation around the holes associated with the vertical motion arrester bolt and the upper guide track bolt on the upper guide fitting, hinge fitting, and recovered aft lower hinge guide fitting. The absence indicates that the four bolts are damaged. Preventing upward movement of the MED [mid exit door] The MED plug was missing before it moved upward from the stop pad,” the report states.