Boeing planes with risky rudder parts could be used by dozens of airlines

National Transportation Safety Board warned more than 40 foreign airlines on Tuesday that they have Boeing 737 aircraft may be equipped with potentially dangerous rudder components. The agency identified 271 parts that could fail and jam the rudder control system. The NTSB discovered the problem while investigating a landing incident in February a United Airlines flight arriving at Newark Liberty International Airport.

The preliminary report found the rudder pedals on the United Boeing 737 Max stuck in their neutral position. The plane was not damaged and no one was injured, but the captain had to use the rudder to control the Boeing after landing. The NTSB tested the plane’s launch guidance actuator alongside an actuator from the another Boeing 737 as a control. Both failed when tested in cold conditions with performance significantly compromised. Investigators found moisture in both units.

Collins Aerospace, the manufacturer of the actuator, determined that the unit’s sealed bearing was assembled incorrectly. The unsealed actuator can collect moisture and freeze if the temperature drops low enough, compromising the airplane’s rudder. Collins has delivered more than 353 Boeing actuators affected by this defect since 2017 that were installed on the 737NG and 737 Max aircraft. The NTSB recommended that the FAA determine whether the actuators should be removed.

Boeing’s troubles with the 737 Max have apparently not stopped since the plane’s debut. The planemaker’s settlement with the government over the two fatal crashes of the 737 Max was canceled earlier this year following the explosion of the Alaska Airlines plug over Portland, Oregon. Boeing then pleaded guilty to fraud and agreed to pay a $243.6 million fine. The company still posted revenue of $16.9 billion in the second quarter of 2024.

A version of this article originally appeared on Jalopnik.