Russian Jet Finds Sea-Tac On 3Rd Try
Aviation authorities want to know why it took an Aeroflot passenger jet three approaches to land at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport yesterday morning.
During one approach, the Russian airliner flew only a few hundred feet over Burien and West Seattle.
The incident occurred because the pilot of the Ilyushin-62 was unable to lock onto the airport's instrument landing system while flying through low clouds.
Mitch Barker, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration in Seattle, said the pilot first approached to the west of the Sea-Tac runway. Air traffic controllers told him he was off line, and his response was "unintelligible," so they sent him around for another try, Barker said.
The second approach again was off line. When the controllers asked the pilot if he could see the airport, they again could not understand his response. They sent him around for a third approach, which required the four-engine jet to circle and climb, Barker said. At one point, it flew over Burien and West Seattle at about 800 feet above sea level.
The plane landed safely at 10:37 a.m.
Barker said that a missed approach is not that unusual, but that missing two approaches is a relatively rare occurrence. And he noted that flying that low over a city is "very noticeable."
The incident resulted in calls to fire stations and local radio and television outlets, including at least one report that the plane had landed on First Avenue South.
Barker said the FAA could not explain why the controllers had been unable to communicate with the plane but were planning to interview the crew.
Larry Responte, a Burien resident, estimated the plane was about 500 feet above his house a mile west of the airport "when the pilot put the gas on. I think he was within seconds of not being able to get lift."
The plane was arriving at Sea-Tac after a stopover in Anchorage on a weekly flight from Khabarovsk, Siberia.
Information from Seattle Times staff reporter Dee Norton is included in this report.
David Schaefer's phone message number is 206-464-3141. His e-mail address is: dsch-new@seatimes.com