Airlines order 737 pilots to fly faster
Sep 28, 1999, 8:02 pm
#1
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Airlines order 737 pilots to fly faster
From msnbc.com http://www.msnbc.com/local/king/387420.asp
SEATTLE, Sept 28 – It looks like a trend developing for major airlines. Tuesday morning, United Airlines ordered its pilots to fly Boeing 737’s faster.
IT IS THE SECOND airline to do so in as many days. U.S. Airways was the first to make the move on Monday.
The two airlines are asking their pilots to speed up during take-offs and landings by 23 miles an hour. The new rules stem from possible rudder malfunctions believed to have caused a deadly crash five years ago. In March, the National Transportation Safety Board ruled that a rudder reversal was probably to blame for the U.S. Airways flight 427 plunge that took the lives of 132 people. Federal investigators have found that the rudders can jam, leaving pilots with an out of control plane.
Pilots say that speeding up could actually give them more time in such an emergency. Higher speeds allow other parts of the plane to kick in and take over temporarily.
The speed changes are the latest in a series of remedies to the 737 rudder difficulties. In the last decade there have been 76 confirmed in-flight problems linked to the rudders. Still the 737 is the most popular airplane in the world, and is considered to be one of the safest. There are more than 3100 in use around the world. On average, a 737 takes off every 7 seconds.
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Dan
"It is not doing the things we like to do, but liking the things we have to do, that makes life blessed." - Goethe
SEATTLE, Sept 28 – It looks like a trend developing for major airlines. Tuesday morning, United Airlines ordered its pilots to fly Boeing 737’s faster.
IT IS THE SECOND airline to do so in as many days. U.S. Airways was the first to make the move on Monday.
The two airlines are asking their pilots to speed up during take-offs and landings by 23 miles an hour. The new rules stem from possible rudder malfunctions believed to have caused a deadly crash five years ago. In March, the National Transportation Safety Board ruled that a rudder reversal was probably to blame for the U.S. Airways flight 427 plunge that took the lives of 132 people. Federal investigators have found that the rudders can jam, leaving pilots with an out of control plane.
Pilots say that speeding up could actually give them more time in such an emergency. Higher speeds allow other parts of the plane to kick in and take over temporarily.
The speed changes are the latest in a series of remedies to the 737 rudder difficulties. In the last decade there have been 76 confirmed in-flight problems linked to the rudders. Still the 737 is the most popular airplane in the world, and is considered to be one of the safest. There are more than 3100 in use around the world. On average, a 737 takes off every 7 seconds.
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Dan
"It is not doing the things we like to do, but liking the things we have to do, that makes life blessed." - Goethe
Sep 29, 1999, 6:35 am
#2
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: May 1999
Posts: 46,817
Fully 76 confirmed in-flight rudder problems in the safest aircraft? I don't like to hear that!
Recalling now, I wonder if there is any relationship to the forever ongoing investigation
http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/Foru...ML/000228.html
[This message has been edited by doc (edited 09-29-1999).]
Recalling now, I wonder if there is any relationship to the forever ongoing investigation
http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/Foru...ML/000228.html
[This message has been edited by doc (edited 09-29-1999).]