User:MaryGaulke/sandbox/Parker Hannifin requests

Proposing a rewrite of the "Boeing 737 incidents" section, with some copy editing, additional sources, and clarifying detail:

Boeing 737 incidents
In 1995, it was discovered that failures in a servo unit supplied by Parker Hannifin to Boeing for use in their 737 aircraft may have contributed to several incidents, including that of United Airlines Flight 585 and USAir Flight 427. The FAA stated that no conclusive evidence established that the rudder system on USAir Flight 427 had failed, meaning no causal link could be firmly established. However, the US National Transportation Safety Board ultimately concluded that a "malfunction in the plane's rudder system" was the "most likely cause" of both events.

In 2004, a Los Angeles jury ordered Parker Hannifin to pay US$43 million to the plaintiff families of the 1997 SilkAir Flight 185 crash in Indonesia. Parker Hannifin subsequently appealed the verdict, which resulted in an out-of-court settlement for an undisclosed amount. The National Transportation Safety Committee could not determine the cause of the crash due to the near total lack of physical evidence; the aircraft had been completely destroyed. However, the NTSB disagreed and concluded that the crash was caused by the pilot, possibly intentionally.

The FAA ordered an upgrade of all Boeing 737 rudder control systems by November 12, 2002. The firm argued that the components they supplied were not at fault, citing that the product has one of the safest records in its class, but the FAA directive went through regardless. The new systems established greater redundancy; the FAA noted that the new design was equivalent to two independent systems.