During an enroute stop a flight attendant reported a continuous 'thumping' noise in the aft body. Th...

Attributes
ACN	1100612
Time
Date	201307
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B737-700
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Taxi
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Rudder Control System
Person 1
Function	Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 278
Person 2
Function	First Officer
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 251 Flight Crew Type 750
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical

Narrative:

During a thru flight stop; a flight attendant told me she heard a loud noise in the tail section that sounded like a thumping that was continuous. The aircraft had had a lightning strike a few days prior to our flight. Maintenance had also done some flight control repairs prior to our flight. I decided to call dispatch and through them maintenance control. I had the first officer move the rudder and I listened to see if I could hear the noise; which I did. Contract maintenance was called and the plane was taken out of service.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: During an enroute stop a Flight Attendant reported a continuous 'thumping' noise in the aft body. The flight crew determined it to be related to rudder operation and; having occurred subsequent to recent flight control maintenance at the previous stop; it was deemed unfit for service.

Narrative: During a thru flight stop; a Flight Attendant told me she heard a loud noise in the tail section that sounded like a thumping that was continuous. The aircraft had had a lightning strike a few days prior to our flight. Maintenance had also done some flight control repairs prior to our flight. I decided to call Dispatch and through them Maintenance Control. I had the First Officer move the rudder and I listened to see if I could hear the noise; which I did. Contract Maintenance was called and the plane was taken out of service.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 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.

During an enroute stop a flight attendant reported a continuous 'thumping' noise in the aft body. The flight crew determined it to be related to rudder operation and; having occurred subsequent to recent flight control maintenance at the previous stop; it was deemed unfit for service.