Jun. 13—A Southwest Airlines flight from Phoenix to Oakland experienced a Dutch roll at 32,000 feet mid-flight last month, causing the aircraft to be taken out of service.
The crew of Southwest Flight 746, operated with a Boeing 737-8 MAX, regained control and safely landed at San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport about an hour after the incident, according to a Federal Aviation Administration report.
The aircraft, which sustained structural damage, carried 175 passengers and six crew members. No injuries were reported.
A Dutch roll, a rare phenomenon where an aircraft rocks side-to-side and sways left-to-right simultaneously, was due to a damaged power control unit that impaired the aircraft's directional stability, according to the Aviation Herald.
The plane, delivered to the airline in December 2022, remained grounded in Oakland until June 6 before being transferred to a Boeing facility in Everett, Wash., for repairs, flight records show.
Boeing declined to comment on the incident. The Chronicle has reached out to Southwest Airlines for further information.
Reach Aidin Vaziri: [email protected]
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