A neighbor just stopped me on the street in front of my house to tell me about this one:
After three incidents involving a contractor, Alaska Airlines had another mishap Wednesday, this time caused by its own mechanics when a jet's landing-gear door was left open, causing strong vibrations and forcing the pilot to make an emergency return to Seattle within minutes after takeoff.
"The second the plane lifted off, it wasn't anything dramatic, but you could feel the resistance," said Nick Block, 21, a passenger on Flight 536 to Burbank, Calif.
A different Alaska plane serving the same flight made an emergency landing Dec. 26 at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport after a hole blew open in the fuselage. That was the first of three recent problems blamed on employees of Menzies Aviation, the company to which Alaska outsourced its baggage handling.
But yesterday's problem was caused by Alaska's own mechanics.
On Wednesday, Flight 536 departed Sea-Tac more than an hour behind schedule because the pilot had to ask mechanics to fix a broken taxi landing light.
The Alaska mechanic who changed the light apparently failed to close the nose landing-gear door when the job was done, an airline spokesman said.
The landing-gear door on an MD-80 is normally closed. It opens briefly when the pilot retracts the landing gear after takeoff, and again when the pilot deploys the landing gear before the plane touches down.
"Prior to [Wednesday's] flight, the nose landing-gear taxi light was replaced and it appears the [nose landing-gear] door was inadvertently left open," confirmed Amanda Tobin, an Alaska Airlines spokeswoman.
The jet landed at Sea-Tac without incident at 4:36 p.m., 16 minutes after it departed, Tobin said.
Port of Seattle firetrucks and emergency vehicles were standing by when the jet landed, at the pilot's request, said Bob Parker, an airport spokesman.
He said it is not unusual for pilots to ask for firetrucks if the plane they are flying doesn't feel right.
"If there's anything about the aircraft that the pilot is not entirely happy with, they'll radio ahead and ask the fire department to stand by," Parker said.
Nick Block was surprised to find no Alaska agents ready to greet the plane when it returned to Sea-Tac.
"What was shocking to me was the lack of organization of how Alaska Airlines would deal with people on the ground after an emergency landing," Block said. "It was utter chaos."
Block is a jazz-guitar student at California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, not far from Burbank. He has flown Alaska 50 or 60 times, he said, and probably will continue to do so because the Burbank airport is so convenient.
But, he said, many of his fellow passengers were pledging to avoid the airline after its recent spate of problems.
"A lot of people didn't want to get back on that plane," he said from Burbank Wednesday night. "I sure know and heard a lot of people on board that are just fed up."
Ken Block learned of the incident when his son called him shortly after the plane made its unexpected return to Sea-Tac.
"As a concerned citizen and a frequent flier, I am alarmed at what appears to be a real degradation in [Alaska's] service," said Ken Block. "Important customer service, like maintenance and safety."
The Dec. 26 rupture in the MD-80 bound for Burbank was caused by damage the plane incurred on the ground when it was hit by a baggage loader. The driver of the truck was an employee of Menzies Aviation, which Alaska hired in May to handle all of its ground operations at Sea-Tac after it laid off 472 ramp personnel. The driver didn't notify airline officials of the damage before takeoff.
An Alaska 737 was damaged at Sea-Tac last Thursday when a Menzies employee inadvertently put a tug attached to the plane into gear, causing the plane to hit a jetway and a baggage loader.
And on Tuesday an Alaska passenger watched as a Menzies worker threw the crate containing her dog into an Alaska jet, rather than loading it with a conveyer belt.
Menzies and Alaska Airlines said last week they were tightening supervision of the baggage handlers.
No one from Menzies was involved in Wednesday's incident.
Passengers reboarded the MD-80 after Alaska corrected the problem.
Flight 536 redeparted Seattle at 5:22 p.m., Tobin said, and arrived in Burbank shortly before 8 p.m.
David Bowermaster: 206-464-2724 or [email protected]
Copyright © 2006 The Seattle Times Company
After three incidents involving a contractor, Alaska Airlines had another mishap Wednesday, this time caused by its own mechanics when a jet's landing-gear door was left open, causing strong vibrations and forcing the pilot to make an emergency return to Seattle within minutes after takeoff.
"The second the plane lifted off, it wasn't anything dramatic, but you could feel the resistance," said Nick Block, 21, a passenger on Flight 536 to Burbank, Calif.
A different Alaska plane serving the same flight made an emergency landing Dec. 26 at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport after a hole blew open in the fuselage. That was the first of three recent problems blamed on employees of Menzies Aviation, the company to which Alaska outsourced its baggage handling.
But yesterday's problem was caused by Alaska's own mechanics.
On Wednesday, Flight 536 departed Sea-Tac more than an hour behind schedule because the pilot had to ask mechanics to fix a broken taxi landing light.
The Alaska mechanic who changed the light apparently failed to close the nose landing-gear door when the job was done, an airline spokesman said.
The landing-gear door on an MD-80 is normally closed. It opens briefly when the pilot retracts the landing gear after takeoff, and again when the pilot deploys the landing gear before the plane touches down.
"Prior to [Wednesday's] flight, the nose landing-gear taxi light was replaced and it appears the [nose landing-gear] door was inadvertently left open," confirmed Amanda Tobin, an Alaska Airlines spokeswoman.
The jet landed at Sea-Tac without incident at 4:36 p.m., 16 minutes after it departed, Tobin said.
Port of Seattle firetrucks and emergency vehicles were standing by when the jet landed, at the pilot's request, said Bob Parker, an airport spokesman.
He said it is not unusual for pilots to ask for firetrucks if the plane they are flying doesn't feel right.
"If there's anything about the aircraft that the pilot is not entirely happy with, they'll radio ahead and ask the fire department to stand by," Parker said.
Nick Block was surprised to find no Alaska agents ready to greet the plane when it returned to Sea-Tac.
"What was shocking to me was the lack of organization of how Alaska Airlines would deal with people on the ground after an emergency landing," Block said. "It was utter chaos."
Block is a jazz-guitar student at California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, not far from Burbank. He has flown Alaska 50 or 60 times, he said, and probably will continue to do so because the Burbank airport is so convenient.
But, he said, many of his fellow passengers were pledging to avoid the airline after its recent spate of problems.
"A lot of people didn't want to get back on that plane," he said from Burbank Wednesday night. "I sure know and heard a lot of people on board that are just fed up."
Ken Block learned of the incident when his son called him shortly after the plane made its unexpected return to Sea-Tac.
"As a concerned citizen and a frequent flier, I am alarmed at what appears to be a real degradation in [Alaska's] service," said Ken Block. "Important customer service, like maintenance and safety."
The Dec. 26 rupture in the MD-80 bound for Burbank was caused by damage the plane incurred on the ground when it was hit by a baggage loader. The driver of the truck was an employee of Menzies Aviation, which Alaska hired in May to handle all of its ground operations at Sea-Tac after it laid off 472 ramp personnel. The driver didn't notify airline officials of the damage before takeoff.
An Alaska 737 was damaged at Sea-Tac last Thursday when a Menzies employee inadvertently put a tug attached to the plane into gear, causing the plane to hit a jetway and a baggage loader.
And on Tuesday an Alaska passenger watched as a Menzies worker threw the crate containing her dog into an Alaska jet, rather than loading it with a conveyer belt.
Menzies and Alaska Airlines said last week they were tightening supervision of the baggage handlers.
No one from Menzies was involved in Wednesday's incident.
Passengers reboarded the MD-80 after Alaska corrected the problem.
Flight 536 redeparted Seattle at 5:22 p.m., Tobin said, and arrived in Burbank shortly before 8 p.m.
David Bowermaster: 206-464-2724 or [email protected]
Copyright © 2006 The Seattle Times Company
