A Southwest Situation
This Dutch roll incident occurred on May 25 when Flight 746 of Southwest Airlines was flying to Oakland from Phoenix. While in the air at about 34,000 feet, the plane underwent this unusual incident.
Source: Samantha Gades/Unsplash
Now, we’re learning more about what exactly happened during this situation — and how the jet has found itself in substantial damage because of the maneuver.
Significant Damage
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has recently come out to explain the substantial damage this Boeing jet has, especially in its tail section.
Source: Owen Lystrup/Unsplash
According to the FAA, all of this damage comes from the Dutch roll incident — and nothing else. This very rare maneuver can be incredibly detrimental to planes when they are in the air.
About a Dutch Roll
Average fliers don’t necessarily know too much about Dutch rolls, as these maneuvers are incredibly rare. A Dutch roll only happens when a plane moves side to side and in a see-saw motion simultaneously.
Source: Anita Denunzio/Unsplash
Ken Byrnes, the chairman of the Flight Department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, explained, “Dutch roll is an oscillatory motion characterized by a combination of rolling and yawing of an aircraft. It typically arises when the combination between the lateral (roll) and directional (yaw) dynamics of the aircraft are out of balance.”
An Unstable Plane
Because of these unusual movements, a plane can quickly find itself in unstable territory when undergoing this type of incident.
Source: Gary Lopater/Unsplash
Byrnes continued, “In Dutch roll, the aircraft experiences a rolling motion primarily driven by the design (dihedral effect) of the wings, while simultaneously yawing due to the adverse yaw effect caused by the sideslip angle. This coupled motion results in a dynamic instability where the aircraft oscillates in both roll and yaw directions.”
Planes Can Break Apart
Dutch rolls are very rare in commercial aviation situations. However, they can happen. These severe situations can quickly cause a plane to become damaged — and some terrible scenarios could occur if a plane does a Dutch roll maneuver.
Source: Miguel Ángel Sanz/Unsplash
In the most serious situations, Dutch rolls have caused planes in the past to break apart while in the air in flight.
Southwest’s Jet’s Condition
Luckily, Southwest’s Boeing jet didn’t break apart in flight during this latest incident. However, a post-flight investigation did find that the rudder’s standby power control unit (PCU) became damaged because of the Dutch roll.
Source: Kyle Glenn/Unsplash
The tail section was substantially damaged. A standby PCU only becomes operable as a backup system if the main rudder power unit stops working.
Other Issues
Commonly, this movement can cause damage and stress on the plane’s fuselage, which also has been seen in this Southwest plane.
Source: Sarah Brown/Unsplash
Now, an investigation is underway to analyze these damages and issues — and to find out why this may have happened. The FAA has revealed it is working with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Boeing during its investigation.
An Ongoing Investigation
The NTSB was notified by Southwest of this incident on June 7. Now, an investigation is ongoing.
Source: Reed Naliboff/Unsplash
The agency said, “The NTSB’s Vehicle Recorder Laboratory in Washington has received data downloaded from the airplane’s digital flight data recorder. Data from the recorder will aid investigators in determining the length and severity of the event. The cockpit voice recorder, which is currently limited to two hours of audio, was overwritten and unavailable to investigators. A preliminary report is expected within 30 days of the date of the event.”
Potential Injuries
While a Dutch roll can clearly become incredibly dangerous, no injuries have been reported after this latest incident.
Source: Aleksei Zaitcev/Unsplash
This comes after various flights have resulted in many passengers having severe — and even life-threatening — injuries after plane turbulence.
A Deadly Flight
Perhaps most notably, a recent flight from London to Singapore ended in passengers hospitalized and a 73-year-old man’s death after the plane experienced severe turbulence.
Source: Suhyeon Choi/Unsplash
During this hectic period, the plane dropped more than 160 feet in less than four seconds. Other flights have also seen difficult turbulence that has caused injuries in the past few months.
A Bad Year for Planes?
This recent Southwest incident — as well as the many other flight problems seen — comes as 2024 has become a seemingly bad year for flight travel.
Source: Karl Magnuson/Unsplash
Many planes have suffered from technical or mechanical failures, resulting in various emergency landings seen throughout the nation, and the world. Intent public attention on air travel began at the beginning of the year when an Alaska Airlines flight had its door plug fall off while in the air.