Boeing plane’s terrifying ‘Dutch roll’ at 32,000 feet

A flight carrying 175 passengers experienced a rare and horrifying phenomenon known as a “Dutch roll” while flying between two US cities.

A Southwest Airlines Boeing plane experienced a rare Dutch roll at 32,000 feet in the air that resulted in significant damage to the aircraft that left it out of service, officials said.

Southwest Flight N8825Q, a Boeing 737 carrying 175 passengers, was travelling from the US cities of Phoenix to Oakland on May 25 when its tail began to wag left and right, causing the plane’s wings to rock from side to side, the New York Post reported.

The phenomenon, known as a Dutch roll, caused major damage to the plane, but the pilots were able to regain control and land it safely in Oakland, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The Southwest Airlines plane was carrying 175 passengers at the time of the terrifying incident. Picture: File image

No injuries were reported over the Dutch roll incident, which pilots are trained to counter and modern planes are built to combat with a yaw damper.

“The FAA is working closely with the [National Transportation Safety Board] and Boeing to investigate this event,” the agency said in a statement. “We will take appropriate action based on the findings.”

A preliminary report from the FAA found that a power control unit on the plane, which provides backup power to the rudder, had been damaged.

Boeing and Southwest declined to comment on the incident, with the airline adding that it was co-operating with FAA investigators.

It’s the latest in a long list of recent problems to plague Boeing aircraft. Picture: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images via AFP

The incident is only the latest tied to a plane manufactured by Boeing, which continues to face mounting scrutiny over safety concerns.

At least 20 whistleblowers have come forward against the aerospace giant, which has faced a slew of criticism in recent years over repeated technical failures across the globe.

A scathing House Transportation and Infrastructure report in September 2020 found that two 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 were the “horrific culmination” of “repeated and serious failures” by the company and regulators.

Then in January 2024, a door panel blew off an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX-9 during a flight from Oregon to California, renewing safety concerns over the planes.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission