(Bloomberg) -- The US Federal Aviation Administration warned operators of certain Boeing Co. 737 aircraft that the rudder system could possibly jam due to a faulty part, a week after a safety official rebuked the agency for not acting sooner to address the issue.
The safety alert issued Monday laid out instructions for flight crews on how to respond to a jammed rudder if they encountered the issue and offered guidance on a check they can do to test for anomalies in the rudder system. In addition to the alert, the FAA will also issue a so-called Continued Airworthiness Notification to the International Community, the agency said in a statement Tuesday.
The alert comes after the head of the National Transportation Safety Board criticized the FAA for “downplaying the urgency” of the rudder issue. The NTSB has issued urgent recommendations to both the FAA and Boeing about the condition, which the agency said is caused by defective parts supplied by Collins Aerospace, a unit of RTX Corp.
According to the NTSB, about 271 suspect components may be in use on aircraft operated by non-US carriers, while 16 may still be in use in the US. Dozens more parts haven’t been installed.
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