vagabond

By DAN RICHMAN
P-I REPORTER

Alaska Airlines will inspect all 40 of its Boeing 737-400s for possible wing-flap problems after three emergency landings of those aircraft in the past three weeks, the Seattle-based carrier said Monday.

The inspections won't ground the planes, which make up 35 percent of Alaska's fleet. They were set to begin Monday evening and to continue for about two weeks.

The problems leading to the emergency landings, all three in Alaska, were caused by "hardware wear" in a door covering the area of the wing that houses the flaps, Alaska Airlines spokesman Paul McElroy said.

As a result, the flaps, which are designed to slow the plane before and during its landing, could extend only partially. Normally they extend 40 degrees from the wing, but in the two emergency landings, they were able to extend just 10 degrees, he said.

But the problem is "not at all" serious enough to require taking the planes out of service.

"This aircraft is certified to land with the flaps fully up -- it's not preferable, but it could," McElroy said. "And flight crews are trained for that."

He said the repairs to the planes weren't "required by the manufacturer or the FAA. We're doing it just to improve reliability." Alaska has notified The Boeing Co. and the Federal Aviation Administration of the problem.

None of the emergency landings caused any injuries or property damage, including to the planes.

The incidents occurred on Jan. 11, 20 and 26.

In one incident, Alaska Flight 64, a 737-400 "combi" en route from Anchorage to Seattle on Jan. 20, discovered that its flaps wouldn't fully extend while approaching Wrangell, Alaska, for a landing. The pilot chose to avoid Wrangell's short, exposed runway and continued to Ketchikan, where he declared an emergency landing and landed without incident.

It is standard practice to declare an emergency under such conditions, because the plane could roll off the end of the runway before stopping, McElroy said. Upon such a declaration, the airport's fire equipment is put on standby.

A "combi" is a passenger plane that has been converted to carry both cargo and passengers. The fact that the plane was a combi is thought to have no connection with the problems, McElroy said. Alaska has converted five of its 737-400s into combis.

The affected plane was flown to Anchorage, where it was repaired and put back into service 22 hours later, he said. That same plane had made an emergency landing in Anchorage on Jan. 11 because of the same problem.

Another emergency landing -- involving a different 737-400 combi on the same route -- occurred on Saturday. This time, Flight 64 was approaching Ketchikan when the flaps failed to extend fully. After being repaired, the plane was put back into service in a matter of hours.

"Once the second incident occurred, we decided to inspect all the others, to see whether they have the same hardware-wear issue," McElroy said.

Alaska didn't publicly disclose the emergencies or the inspections until Monday afternoon, when the Seattle P-I made inquiries in response to a reader's question. McElroy said the airline isn't required to disclose such incidents or to report them to the National Transportation Safety Board or the FAA.

The average age of Alaska's fleet of 40 737-400s is 12 years and six months. The airline also flies 13 McDonnell-Douglas MD- 80s and 62 Boeing 737-700, -800 and -900s, for a total fleet of 115 planes. None of those planes is affected by the problem, McElroy said.

P-I reporter Dan Richman can be reached at 206-448-8032 or [email protected].

mike734

Where I have a problem is that the repair was not made properly the first time. Alaska still has a way to go before being "first in safety and compliance."

Can that be disputed?

Slipstream

There's no interest in doing anything more than paying lip service to the idea of "First in Safety." Alaska's former ALPA Safety rep (Jack W) resigned his post in frustration -- He literally could not get our prez/CEO Bill Ayer to meet with him. Ever.