Boeing Statement on NTSB Meeting

Charles Higgins, Boeing Vice-President of Airplane Safety and Airworthiness, released the following at the conclusion of the first day of the National Transportation Safety Board's meeting:

The National Transportation Safety Board's probe into the tragic 1994 crash of a 737-300 is coming to an end after the longest and most intensive investigation in aviation history.

Working cooperatively with the NTSB, Boeing has invested more than 75,000 engineering hours-the equivalent of 36 labor years-on this effort.

Boeing understands the difficulty of the safety board's task. Although the public meeting is presenting us with a high-level summary, we are eager to read and understand the details contained in the lengthy final report. We will seriously review the NTSB's analysis to determine the next steps to be taken.

At the end of any accident investigation the primary question remains: What have we learned and done to help prevent future accidents?

The answer is many things:

• Boeing has made design improvements to preclude a reversal in the 737 rudder system;
• Boeing has changed the yaw-damper system to improve its reliability;
• Boeing has added a pressure reducer to limit the authority of the rudder during most of the flight to help the crew better manage airplane upsets, regardless of cause;
• Boeing has added maintenance checks to ensure the rudder system is operating normally;
• Boeing has added in-flight procedures that will help flight crews respond in the extremely unlikely event of a rudder malfunction;
• The FAA has mandated the above changes by Airworthiness Directives;
• In addition, Boeing has worked with the rest of the industry to develop training to prepare pilots for in-flight upsets, regardless of cause.

The 737 is a safe airplane. In more than 30 years of service, the 737 has carried more than 5 billion passengers on 77 million flights. More than one million people fly every day on 737s; somewhere in the world, there is a 737 taking off every six seconds.

Boeing's commitment to the 737-and all of our other airplanes-remains the same: when the facts show us an opportunity to make it even safer, we will. It is our job to provide airlines and their passengers with safe, reliable airplanes.