Summary Alaska Airlines Flight 60 captain made a critical error attempting a go-around after a long touchdown. Crew coordination lacked intervention to correct the approach, leading to the fatal incident. Importance of stabilized approaches and adherence to ILS procedures, highlighting CRM.
On April 5, 1976, Alaska Airlines Flight 60, a Boeing 727-81, was scheduled to fly from Anchorage to Seattle, with en route stops in Juneau and Ketchikan. According to Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archive The flight began uneventfully, but what unfolded during the approach to Ketchikan International Airport would become a significant event in aviation safety history. Let's discover what the investigations revealed.
The flight conditions Flight 60 departed Juneau at 07:38 LT and was cleared by Anchorage ARTCC to proceed to Ketchikan International Airport under instrument flight rules (IFR). The flight carried 43 passengers and seven crew members. As the aircraft approached Ketchikan, it was informed about the weather conditions: a ceiling of 800 feet obscured, visibility of two miles with light snow and fog, and winds of 330° to 5 knots.
Most crucially, the braking action on runway 11 was reported as poor, information that the captain did not recall hearing. The 2009 Boeing 737-800 crash claimed nine lives. The approach and landing Upon reaching the 17-mile DME fix and descending through 4,000 feet, the crew decided to transition from an ILS approach to a visual approach.
The captain estab.