Summary A 24-year-old Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-700 had an engine failure after takeoff from Seattle on Sunday. The crew safely landed the aircraft just 26 minutes after takeoff, with no injuries reported. Passengers were accommodated on a replacement aircraft to Oakland.
A Boeing 737-700 operated by Alaska Airlines returned to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) on Sunday after one of its engines failed. The incident reportedly occurred minutes after its departure. The aircraft, which was reportedly 24 years old, was bound for Oakland.
Passengers recalled hearing loud noises due to the engine complications. Flight path According to The Aviation Herald , the aircraft is registered as N613AS. It was performing as AS1240 from SEA to San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport (OAK) .
The aircraft pushed back from gate N10 at 12:24 – nearly 40 minutes past its scheduled departure time of 11:46, according to FlightAware . It took off from runway 16L at 13:04 and headed south. Just one minute after takeoff, the aircraft was flying at a speed of 280 miles per hour (mph) and ascending through 2,500 feet.
Since the plane was headed to the Bay Area, it would typically follow a standard straight-out departure, but it changed course after being airborne for about two minutes. Flight data shows that the aircraft turned directly west, passing just north of Commencement Bay. As it reached Gig Harbor, it leveled off at 7,000 feet and then turned north.
Landing safely The plane began to gradually descend – a clear indication that it was diverting. It flew just over the southern tip of Bainbridge Island and then over Elliot Bay, maintaining an altitude of 2,600 feet. The aircraft appeared to turn back south to line up for final approach at SEA, but continued turning to ultimately travel north again.
It flew toward Squamish and then Edmonds before turning south again to approach SEA. N613AS landed safely, back on runway 16R at 13:30 – just 26 minutes after it took off. The aircraft’s left (#1) CFM56 engine failed shortly after takeoff, prompting the crew to shut down the engine and return to SEA.
An Alaska spokesperson confirmed the incident in a statement to Simple Flying on Monday. "Alaska Airlines Flight 1240 from Seattle to Oakland returned to the airport shortly after takeoff on Sunday after experiencing a shutdown of the #1 engine on the left side of the aircraft." Passengers reported hearing a loud noise and that the aircraft “jumped” during the incident.
It is unclear if the engine emitted any flames. "Credit to the crew for following standard procedures for this situation and landing safely and without incident," the spokesperson explained. "We worked to take care of our guests and accommodate their travel to Oakland yesterday afternoon, and we apologize for the inconvenience.
" About the aircraft According to ch-aviation , N613AS was manufactured in November 1999 and was delivered new to Alaska that same month. The aircraft accommodates 124 passengers, but the number of travelers on AS1240 is unknown. As of April 2024, the plane had more than 73,780 flight hours across nearly 39,000 flight cycles.
It has a projected retirement date of December 2025. Alaska arranged a replacement aircraft to continue AS1240. The airline dispatched a larger 737-900ER registered as N442AS, according to The Aviation Herald.
The aircraft departed from SEA at 16:03 and arrived at OAK at 17:36 – nearly four hours after the flight’s original scheduled arrival time..
