DGCA issues advisory on rudder control problem in Boeing 737 planes

Aviation regulator DGCA has warned all Indian airlines operating Boeing 737 planes about the potential risk of a jammed rudder control system.

This follows a probe report by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) that highlighted safety concerns involving Boeing 737 planes equipped with Collins Aerospace SVO-730 Rudder Rollout Guidance Actuators.

DGCA warning to airlines

Amid the potential risk of a jammed or restricted rudder control system, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has made safety recommendations to all Indian airlines.

Air India Express, Akasa Air, and SpiceJet operate Boeing 737s. The DGCA said on Monday (October 7) all flight crews must be told about the possibility of a jammed or restricted rudder control system.

"Appropriate mitigations must be communicated to help crews identify and handle such a situation," it said in an advisory.

Airlines told to check risks

The operators have also been asked to conduct a safety risk assessment for aircraft to evaluate and mitigate the risk associated with the rudder control system.

The regulator also said all Category III B approach, landing and rollout operations, including practice or actual autoland, must be discontinued for these planes until further notice. Category III B pertains to operations in low visibility conditions.

DGCA focus on crew response

The airlines have also been asked to mandatorily include discussions about potential rudder control system issues as a mandatory topic in recurrent training sessions.

This will also be included in the Instrument Rating/Proficiency Checks (IR/PPC) during pre-simulator briefings.

"Appropriate flight crew responses and mitigations should be practised during these exercises," the DGCA said in the statement.