The Aviation Herald reports on an incident that a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX recently encountered, which is now being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This incident was so serious that the plane was flown to Paine Field in Washington after the incident for Boeing to investigate, and the jet hasn’t flown a passenger flight since.
Southwest Boeing 737 MAX encounters Dutch roll
This incident happened on Saturday, May 25, 2024, and involves Southwest flight WN746 from Phoenix (PHX) to Oakland (OAK), carrying 175 passengers and six crew members. The flight was operated by a one-year-old Boeing 737 MAX 8 with the registration code N8825Q.
Around 40 minutes after takeoff, the aircraft was at 32,000 feet, when it experienced a Dutch roll. For those not familiar with a Dutch roll, this is an aircraft motion consisting of an out-of-phase combination of “tail-wagging” (yaw) and rocking from side-to-side (roll). Below is a video that explains this in greater detail.
The crew was able to regain control of the aircraft, and 55 minutes later, it landed safely on Oakland Airport’s runway 30.
An inspection was performed on the aircraft upon landing, and damage was discovered with the PCU (the power control unit, which also controls the rudder). This incident was so serious that the aircraft remained on the ground in Oakland all the way through Thursday, June 6, 2024. At that point, the plane was ferried to Paine Field (PAE) in Washington, where Aviation Technical Services, one of Southwest’s maintenance vendors, is based. The aircraft has been on the ground there ever since.
The FAA is now investigating this incident, reporting the following:
“AIRCRAFT EXPERIENCED A DUTCH ROLL, REGAINED CONTROL AND POST FLIGHT INSPECTION REVEALED DAMAGE TO THE STANDBY PCU, OAKLAND, CA.”
What should we make of this 737 MAX incident?
It’s hard to know what to make of this — not only is this beyond my area of expertise, but even those more knowledgable than me seem to be a bit puzzled, so we’ll let the investigation reveal what happened.
First of all, a Dutch roll is a serious incident that most commercial pilots will never experience in their life, outside of a simulator. Going back decades, there have been multiple crashes due to Dutch rolls, so this has the potential to be serious.
It’s a bit surprising that this hasn’t gotten more media attention in the weeks since the incident happened, especially since it involved a 737 MAX. You’d think with certainty that passengers onboard would have felt all of this, given the G-forces one would feel with this kind of a swaying motion. So did it not feel so bad in the cabin, or how exactly has this flown under the radar?
I certainly hope this is an isolated incident, and doesn’t reflect a bigger issue with the Boeing 737 MAX. No matter what caused it, hopefully an investigation can reveal the root of the issue. A Dutch roll is something you don’t ever want to experience as a pilot or passenger, and the fact that this aircraft was damaged makes it all the more concerning…
Bottom line
A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX operating a routine flight a few weeks ago experienced a Dutch roll, whereby the pilots struggled to maintain control of the aircraft. Upon landing, damage was discovered to the aircraft, so the plane was grounded. The plane has now been flown to Paine Field, where the incident is being investigated by engineers and the FAA. This couldn’t have been pleasant for those onboard the aircraft…
What do you make of this Southwest Boeing 737 MAX incident?
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