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The
737 Aircraft
Weekend
September 1/2, 2001
The 737 is the most widely used planes in the world. Southwest flies them exclusively and 737's make up nearly 60 percent of Continental's fleet. “Extra” travel detective Peter Greenberg says, “If you look at statistics, it's an incredibly safe plane. It has one small problem.”
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Greenberg says that small problem is a faulty rudder system that may have had a big impact in two deadly 737 plane crashes. In 1994, 132 people died when a US Air jet slammed nose first into the ground in Pittsburgh. Same thing happened back in 1991. A United 737 went nose first on its approach into Colorado Springs killing all 25 people aboard.
A new report by the NTSB blames faulty rudder systems for both crashes. The rudder is part of the 737 tail section. It helps steer the plane left and right. But if something goes wrong, it's very difficult for a pilot to regain control.
Gail Dunham says, “It's the only plane where you have this catastrophic failure of the rudder."
Gail’s ex-husband was piloting the doomed United plane when it went down in Colorado Springs. She says, “They really need to redesign the 737 to have a backup system just like every other commercial jet."
“Extra's” learned that since the NTSB report came out, the FAA did order Boeing, the builder of 737's, to retrofit all rudders with a safer hydraulic system. But instead of immediately grounding planes, it will take three to eight years to fix the problem.
Greenberg says, "The economic impact of grounding the largest fleet in the world of 737's is staggering."
Hundreds of millions of dollars the airlines don't want to spend. Still, Dunham says safety should come first. She says, "The industry has known about the potential for a rudder reversal on the 737 for over 30 years."
But Boeing spokesperson Allen Bailey says it will take three more years to design and test a new rudder system. In the meantime, he insists there's no risk to 737 passengers.
He says, “It is absolutely one of the safest airplanes flying today."
But not as safe as it should be. So until the faulty rudder systems are fixed, you'll have to decide if you're willing to take that flight risk.
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