NO-FLY ZONE

United Jet With ‘Stuck’ Rudder Focus of New NTSB Boeing 737 Max Probe

In the past, malfunctions with this plane part have been deadly.

Houston, we have a problem—again. Boeing is once more under investigation for a Max jet’s inflight malfunction, this time over an issue with the plane’s rudder during landing. According to a report released Thursday by the National Transportation Safety Board, the pilots on the United Airlines 737 Max 8 jet said the cockpit pedals that control the rudder got stuck as the plane touched down at Newark Liberty International Airport on Feb. 6. In-flight malfunctions have plagued Boeing every month in 2024, beginning with the dramatic midair blowout involving a faulty door plug in January. But this is the first time an incident has involved a plane’s rudder, which controls the plane’s vertical rotation. Rudder malfunctions have been deadly in the past: In the 1990s, two 737s had major crashes due to rudder system flaws, killing a combined 157 people. Boeing redesigned the rudder after those fatal accidents and hasn’t had a problem with the part since then—until now, apparently.