BY ROBBIE SCHERR
SEATTLE - Somewhere in the world - every six seconds - a Boeing 737 jet takes off. Yet the world's most widely used passenger jet would not be certified to fly if it were applying for a federal license today, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). This was the evaluation made in a 10-page February 20 letter from the NTSB to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the agency responsible for approving and monitoring those licenses. The Boeing 737 airplane was certified for service 30 years ago.

An unnamed NTSB investigator told the Seattle Post- Intelligencer, "There is a failure condition on the 737s that is not on any other airplane. This needs to be fixed right away."

NTSB chairman Jim Hall urged the FAA to take "expeditious" action to replace the rudder systems.

For some time it has been known that the rudder systems on the 737s are subject to malfunction, a defect that is suspected of causing at least two plane crashes that together killed 157 people. The rudder is the movable flat panel in the vertical tail section that helps direct an airplane from right to left.

The FAA maintains that the 737 is one of the safest planes flying and claims it would easily meet the standards of certification. But in March 1994 the FAA ordered the redesign and replacement of the rudder control systems on all 737s, setting a 1999 deadline. The Boeing Co., which manufactures the airplane, has agreed to pay for the repairs while at the same time insisting that the 737 is safe. According to the manufacturer, the repair could be done overnight. So far, not one of the planes has been fixed.

Boeing's view is echoed by the airline industry. Amy Lyons, a spokeswoman for Southwest Airlines, argued there is no rush since "in 25 years of flying, we have never, ever experienced a rudder anomaly." Southwest Airline's entire 245-plane fleet is made up of Boeing 737s.

Travel industry consultants have spoken out in defense of the 737 in an effort to bolster the rapidly declining public confidence in air travel.

Despite the conclusions about the 737's safety stated in its February 20 letter, the NTSB stopped short of calling for the grounding of aircraft, saying the letter speaks for itself. Grounding planes would be financially devastating to many airlines, such as Southwest.

The controversy about the 737 is occurring at the beginning of a sharp upturn in the airplane production industry. Boeing is boosting its 1997 monthly production rate to the highest level in the company's 81-year history. By the end of the year Boeing hopes to produce - through continued large-scale hiring and speed-up - more than 40 airplanes a month at its Renton and Everett, Washington, factories. More than half of those jets will be 737s.

The subtitle on a March 3, 1997, article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer summed up the quandary felt by the regulatory agencies, who have the dubious challenge of pretending to represent public safety while doing the bidding of the airplane industry and airlines. It read, "Grounding world's most popular jet not an easy call."

Robbie Scherr is a member of International Association of Machinists District 751 and works at Boeing's Everett factory.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home