Boeing 737 Max: Southwest Airlines plane grounded for 20 days after aircraft did a dangerous 'Dutch roll' mid-flight

A Boeing 737 Max plane has been grounded for 20 days after the aircraft experienced a dangerous “Dutch roll” mid-flight. The incident caused the aircraft to sway side-to-side.

The Southwest Airlines flight was travelling from Phoenix, Arizona, to Oakland, California, carrying 175 passengers and six crew members, when the aircraft experienced a Dutch Roll - an  “unsafe” movement in which the tail wags and the wings oscillate, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The incident occurred on 12 June and is yet another safety incident to rock the Boeing company. 

The incident report indicates that pilots regained control of the aircraft, but an inspection upon landing revealed “damage to the standby” power control unit, which provides back-up power to the main rudder. No passengers were injured, the report says, but the damage to the plane was “substantial.” It’s unclear when the aircraft will be able to fly again.

The FAA said in a statement to The Independent: “The FAA is working closely with the NTSB and Boeing to investigate this event. We will take appropriate action based on the findings. The agency noted that other airlines have not reported similar issues.

A Southwest Airlines spokesperson told The Independent: “Southwest is participating in and supporting the investigation.” The incident comes as the FAA is also investigating a Boeing Southwest Airlines flight that reportedly plunged to “within 400ft” of the Pacific Ocean mid-air. 

A memo distributed to Southwest pilots, obtained by Bloomberg, said that the Boeing 737 Max 8 plunged at a rate of 4,000ft a minute off the coast of Hawaii, coming within hundreds of feet of the ocean before climbing to safety. The FAA told CNN that it learned of the incident immediately and opened an investigation. The plane eventually re-routed to Honolulu.