Federal officials announced on Thursday that they are investigating an incident involving a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 Max that experienced an unusual rolling motion, potentially due to a damaged backup power-control unit. The incident occurred on a flight from Phoenix to Oakland, California on May 25.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is collaborating with Boeing and the National Transportation Safety Board to probe the matter. The FAA described the plane's motion as a 'Dutch roll,' a term used to describe a combination of yawing and rocking from wingtip to wingtip, resembling the movement of a Dutch ice skater.
Pilots are trained to handle such situations, and in this case, the Southwest plane was able to land safely in Oakland. Fortunately, there were no injuries reported among the 175 passengers and six crew members on board.
Following the incident, an inspection revealed damage to a unit responsible for providing backup power to the rudder. The FAA noted that no similar issues have been reported by other airlines at this time.
