Boieng to redesign B-737 rudder system
 

From Airline pilot magasine, << The FAA and boeing announced on september 14th that, folowing the recomendation of a group of experts, Boeing will redesign the B-737 ruder power conrtol unit (PCU) and support an exyensive program to retrofit the U.S.B-737 fleet by 2006....>>.

That's going to cost a lot of monney. I just hope they fixe it once and for all. http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/eek.gif

So Boeing are going to retrofit the U.S B737s, what about the rest of the world, or don't we matter to Boeing????

Old news. If there weren't three and a half thousand of them flying would the FAA act the same way?
Incidentially I heard that Boeing got roasted by pilots at their Rudder Conference in Seattle recently under the noses of the FAA who were present.
Could this possibly why the European conference was changed from AMS to CPH and the JAA folks got a separate 'briefing' in AMS the following day?
Six years to fix the problem? What a joke!

I agree with you. It's a game of administation, They are trying to get away with it but thank god the guys flying them are pushing for a solution. In any case they have delayed it long enough. Now How long do you thing it will take to get the ones in the rest of the world up to date.....

Rudders aside (ha ha!), a half-decent review of Boeing flight deck design would see all Boeing aircraft grounded within 24 hours. The 737-NG flight deck, for example, is a mobile accident looking for a place to happen.

Boeing don't understand CRM, the human interface, or safety. They are the number one threat to aviation safety in the world today.

It just so happens that luck has been on their side so far, pilots have carried the can repeatedly, and the rudder issue is the only one which is biting them in the posterior. This is a great shame, because in comparison with other safety issues surrounding their products, the rudder is small fry. However, the FAA are in their pockets - scared of the better products from Europe - and other states follow the FAA's lead.

Read 'The Tombstone Imperative' to find out more.

[This message has been edited by Fokjok (edited 06 December 2000).]

Fojok,

You write that "The 737-NG flight deck, for example, is a mobile accident looking for a place to happen." Care to provide any specific examples of problematic design features?

You also write "...in comparison with other safety issues surrounding their products, the rudder is small fry." Do you have an example of another aspect of Boeing aircraft design and/or construction that has led to a series of disasters?