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B737 captain reported several events of windshield wiper system failure during rain conditions on landing.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1607046 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201812 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0001-0600 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | IMC |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | B737-700 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Landing |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Windshield Wiper System |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain Pilot Not Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 410 Flight Crew Type 10000 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe |
Narrative:
This event is my third time this winter my aircraft windshield wipers failed on short final. This was the second flight with this aircraft. The first flight; the captain's windshield wiper failed on final. The captain landed uneventfully because rain was light. Maintenance was called; came to the aircraft; stuck his hand out the window; grabbed the wiper and it started working. Problem 'solved.' this flight it happened again; same aircraft; it was raining so hard it was difficult to monitor the first officer's (first officer) landing. Was forced to look out the first officer's window to taxi back. The first officer's wiper failed on short final in heavy rain; where I had to take the aircraft; landing uneventfully. His wiper started working again after touchdown. I believe the wipers are poorly engineered. There is no preflight check on them since you are not supposed to turn them on when the windshield is dry. The first time you know they will not work is when you need them. We can't stick our hand out the window to fix the problem. I hope the wipers will not be a cause of a future mishap. Recommend talking to boeing for a fix.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: B737 Captain reported several events of windshield wiper system failure during rain conditions on landing.
Narrative: This event is my third time this winter my aircraft windshield wipers failed on short final. This was the second flight with this aircraft. The first flight; the Captain's windshield wiper failed on final. The Captain landed uneventfully because rain was light. Maintenance was called; came to the aircraft; stuck his hand out the window; grabbed the wiper and it started working. Problem 'solved.' This flight it happened again; same aircraft; it was raining so hard it was difficult to monitor the First Officer's (FO) landing. Was forced to look out the F/O's window to taxi back. The F/O's wiper failed on short final in heavy rain; where I had to take the aircraft; landing uneventfully. His wiper started working again after touchdown. I believe the wipers are poorly engineered. There is no preflight check on them since you are not supposed to turn them on when the windshield is dry. The first time you know they will not work is when you need them. We can't stick our hand out the window to fix the problem. I hope the wipers will not be a cause of a future mishap. Recommend talking to Boeing for a fix.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.