smooshfacekitty
Active member
- Joined
- May 16, 2002
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This B737 was only one year old...........Thank goodness no one was hurt.
Alaska Airlines flight had 160 people aboard
Three minutes after takeoff from Logan International Airport, Emilie Soisson froze in fear as she looked out the window at flames shooting from the left engine of the Alaska Airlines jet about 6:30 p.m. yesterday.
Soisson was one of the dozens of passengers who worried that they would never make it to Seattle, as the Boeing 737 shuddered several times and at least nine fireballs shot out of the engine, lighting up the cabin.
''It was like a big fireball,'' said Soisson, a 24-year-old hospital employee from Brighton.
''I was scared,'' she said. ''I was hyperventilating.''
Flight 15, with 160 people on board, had climbed less than 3,000 feet when it turned around and landed safely back at Logan about 15 minutes after takeoff.
The pilot never had to shut down the engine, said Phil Orlandella, spokesman for the Massachusetts Port Authority.
Early accounts from crew members indicate blades in the engine might have failed, interfering with air compression and prompting the explosions, he said.
Meanwhile, rush-hour commuters in Revere and East Boston were able to stare at the flaming jet passing overhead.
Hundreds of people flocked to open areas such as Revere Beach to see if the plane would make it back safely.
''You feel the plane shaking and you look out the window and see red sparks from the left-hand side,'' said passenger Mike Gillette, 31, of Waltham.
''You're just hoping that the plane doesn't nosedive or something. You're just like, `Keep steady, keep steady, keep steady ... just get me on the ground.''
A number of Alaska Airlines flights have had problems in the last few years.
On May 31, another Alaska Airlines jet flying from Boston to Seattle was forced to abort the trip twice within 24 hours because of problems with the wing flaps.
In January 2000, an Alaska Airlines MD-80 crashed off the coast of California and killed all 88 people on board.
Airline spokesman Jack Walsh told the Associated Press last night that the engine itself never caught fire, and that the explosions were essentially a backfiring.
The aircraft used for Flight 15 yesterday is one year old, according to Federal Aviation Administration records. No maintenance records on it were available last night.
The FAA is investigating the incident.
Last night, FAA spokesman Jim Peters said compression stalls, while not typical, are also not that unusual. If the engine had quit, he said, the plane would have been able to safely land with just one functioning engine.
Although some of the 154 passengers and six crew members were even unaware of what was happening, pedestrians and commuters heading home from work saw the flames.
Michael Sforza, 26, of Revere, said he heard what sounded like gunshots before he looked up and saw flames bursting from a jet.
''I've been watching planes for 13 years from the same spot,'' Sforza said. ''I looked and saw a flash and I thought it was the light reflecting off - but it wasn't - it was the flames shooting out. Huge orange flames.
''I looked again and it was doing it even worse. I saw the pilot turn and I thought it was going to crash into the ocean. It was crazy.''
John Tieuli, 35, of Reading, said he and hundreds of others drove to Winthrop Beach to see if the plane had landed safely.
''There were people running from the hills to see if the plane crashed,'' Tieuli said.
''I think everyone was a lot more aware because of 9/11.''
Tieuli congratulated the pilot.
The landing ''was textbook,'' he said. ''He never came back over land until he landed.''
By Douglas Belkin, Globe Staff and Jenny Jiang, Globe Correspondent, 8/8/2002
Alaska Airlines flight had 160 people aboard
Three minutes after takeoff from Logan International Airport, Emilie Soisson froze in fear as she looked out the window at flames shooting from the left engine of the Alaska Airlines jet about 6:30 p.m. yesterday.
Soisson was one of the dozens of passengers who worried that they would never make it to Seattle, as the Boeing 737 shuddered several times and at least nine fireballs shot out of the engine, lighting up the cabin.
''It was like a big fireball,'' said Soisson, a 24-year-old hospital employee from Brighton.
''I was scared,'' she said. ''I was hyperventilating.''
Flight 15, with 160 people on board, had climbed less than 3,000 feet when it turned around and landed safely back at Logan about 15 minutes after takeoff.
The pilot never had to shut down the engine, said Phil Orlandella, spokesman for the Massachusetts Port Authority.
Early accounts from crew members indicate blades in the engine might have failed, interfering with air compression and prompting the explosions, he said.
Meanwhile, rush-hour commuters in Revere and East Boston were able to stare at the flaming jet passing overhead.
Hundreds of people flocked to open areas such as Revere Beach to see if the plane would make it back safely.
''You feel the plane shaking and you look out the window and see red sparks from the left-hand side,'' said passenger Mike Gillette, 31, of Waltham.
''You're just hoping that the plane doesn't nosedive or something. You're just like, `Keep steady, keep steady, keep steady ... just get me on the ground.''
A number of Alaska Airlines flights have had problems in the last few years.
On May 31, another Alaska Airlines jet flying from Boston to Seattle was forced to abort the trip twice within 24 hours because of problems with the wing flaps.
In January 2000, an Alaska Airlines MD-80 crashed off the coast of California and killed all 88 people on board.
Airline spokesman Jack Walsh told the Associated Press last night that the engine itself never caught fire, and that the explosions were essentially a backfiring.
The aircraft used for Flight 15 yesterday is one year old, according to Federal Aviation Administration records. No maintenance records on it were available last night.
The FAA is investigating the incident.
Last night, FAA spokesman Jim Peters said compression stalls, while not typical, are also not that unusual. If the engine had quit, he said, the plane would have been able to safely land with just one functioning engine.
Although some of the 154 passengers and six crew members were even unaware of what was happening, pedestrians and commuters heading home from work saw the flames.
Michael Sforza, 26, of Revere, said he heard what sounded like gunshots before he looked up and saw flames bursting from a jet.
''I've been watching planes for 13 years from the same spot,'' Sforza said. ''I looked and saw a flash and I thought it was the light reflecting off - but it wasn't - it was the flames shooting out. Huge orange flames.
''I looked again and it was doing it even worse. I saw the pilot turn and I thought it was going to crash into the ocean. It was crazy.''
John Tieuli, 35, of Reading, said he and hundreds of others drove to Winthrop Beach to see if the plane had landed safely.
''There were people running from the hills to see if the plane crashed,'' Tieuli said.
''I think everyone was a lot more aware because of 9/11.''
Tieuli congratulated the pilot.
The landing ''was textbook,'' he said. ''He never came back over land until he landed.''
By Douglas Belkin, Globe Staff and Jenny Jiang, Globe Correspondent, 8/8/2002
