Originally Posted by
Khantahr
I assume the 330 that diverted into Yakima yesterday sparked this? Seattle was below cat 3 mins, which is why they diverted. Boeing Field and Paine Field were also bouncing around and below minimums.
PDX, which would have been the best place to go, was above minimums, but not by much. If they had tried to go there, and been unsuccessful, then they really, really would have been in a world of hurt.
Vancouver was the only other viable option with customs, maybe being in Canada would have caused a whole other set of problems. Better problems than Yakima perhaps? I don't know. There weren't any better options in the US for them to take though.
I don't know the specifics, but it's likely that a whole chain of bad decisions led to arriving at SEA with weather below minimims, and nowhere else to go due to fuel. A more experienced Captain might have seen it coming and left himself more options. PDX, SLC, SFO, YVR, even an early stop in DTW, MSP, or ANC would have been a better choice than painting yourself into a corner and diverting a Widebody International flight to a GA airport in the middle of nowhere. But by all means, tell us to get out of your seats the day we turn 65, experience means nothing. "Equity" is all that matters now.