April 5, 1976: A Boeing 727 landing in Ketchikan, Alaska, in snow and fog overshot the runway and crashed into a ditch. Fireboats and both airport ferries also responded.Carl Constantine, a Coast Guardsman on the flight, told the Daily News that the plane seemed to be landing “fast.”“We bounced a couple of times and I knew something was wrong,” he said. After determining that there were no apparent issues with the crew's qualifications or the aircraft, their investigation focused on the navigational equipment and techniques used for the approach. Both navigation radio receivers on the ai… 1866, crashed at the 2,500‐foot level of the Chilkoot Mountains in the Tongass National Forest eight minutes before it … The U.S. NTSB investigated the accident. The crash occurred at 8:19 am.According to Alaska Airlines records, Captain Burke – who had been with the airline since 1960, had flown into Ketchikan more than 50 times prior to the accident.The plane broke into three sections on impact with the two breaks occurring just forward and aft of the wings. The Ketchikan flight service center reported a cloud ceiling of 800 feet, two miles of visibility, light snow, fog and 5 knots of wind. “In spite of the long and fast touchdown, the Safety Board believes that the aircraft could have been successfully stopped with the normal use of spoilers, reverse thrust and wheel brakes.”The board was left with one significant puzzle according to the report.“Why would a highly experienced and qualified captain deviate from prescribed procedures and exercise faulty judgment to the extent that he did in this case and why would two other crewmembers fail to take more positive and timely action to alter the course of events?”The board then surmised that a physical reason might have clouded the judgment of Captain Burke, who had more than 19,000 flight hours and more than 2,100 hours in B- 727s.Several months before the accident, medical tests showed he was potentially “hypoglycemic” and in a pre-diabetic state.
Injuries among the passengers included spinal, leg and rib fractures among other injuries. The flight service center also advised the pilot that braking conditions on the runway were “poor.” Captain Burke later testified that he didn’t hear the braking warning. He said the fire erupted soon after the crash, near the center of the plane, but that most passengers were able to get out ahead of the conflagration.Another passenger, William Russell, told the Daily News that when the plane hit the end of the runway “It felt like we were floating and then we bellied down.” Russell said the belly landing probably saved many lives.Ketchikan resident Glen Scott told the Daily News the crash occurred so fast there was almost no time to panic on the plane.“It wasn’t a hysterical type of Hollywood thing,” he said. One of the 43 passengers died. At the time, it was the deadliest crash in U.S. Aviation history. Some said it still had its landing gear up when it passed the terminal. Among the recommendations by the safety board was that crew members need to be more assertive if they witness unusual behavior by the captain.Although the report noted the runway was not particularly long, it determined that the jet should have had plenty of stopping distance under normal circumstances.In 2009, nearly 30 years after the crash, the FAA improved the safety margins at Ketchikan International Airport by adding 2000 feet to the runway. One of the 43 passengers died. The witnesses differed on just where the plane touched down. As shocked local residents watched, an Alaska Airlines 727 landed in inclement weather and then went careening off the end of the runway and exploded into flames in a ravine near Government … At least one flight attendant suffered rib fractures. Fire equipment from Ketchikan arrived at 8:40 am, and help was also provided by the Coast Guard and Ketchikan Fire Department fireboats.Later, the investigation determined that the Borough “had taken too lightly” the management of the airport and had not provided proper safety planning or fire training for the airport employees. He said he was aware that an Alaska Airlines pilot had successfully executed a similar maneuver at the Ketchikan Airport several months previously prior in similar conditions.But, Captain Burke testified, he couldn’t get the engines to respond quickly enough to get the plane airborne again.According to the NTSB report, several passengers on the flight “anticipated the accident because of the high speed of the aircraft after touchdown and the lack of deceleration.”Two ground witnesses, who were pilots, also reported to the NTSB that all of the plane’s landing gear wasn’t down until the plane was nearly 3,000 feet down the runway, nearly half of its 7,500 foot length. The NTSB determined that the pilot’s landing approach did not conform to Alaska Airlines’ procedures for visual or instrument landings and that the landing gear was not down early enough. The captain’s attempt to “go around” was unsuccessful, and the jet crashed in a ravine 700 feet beyond the end of the runway. The aircraft touched down fast (at 145kts) with a 3 knots tailwind component.PROBABLE CAUSE: "The captain's faulty judgement in initiating a go-around after he was committed to a full stop landing following an excessively long and fast touchdown from an unstabilized approach. By May of 1976, the FAA surveyed the airport again and determined that the areas of “non compliance” had been addressed.Overall, the NTSB determined that the accident proved “survivable” primarily because the way the plane crashed led to numerous ways of quick escape for passengers and crew.
Injuries among the passengers included spinal, leg and rib fractures among other injuries. The flight service center also advised the pilot that braking conditions on the runway were “poor.” Captain Burke later testified that he didn’t hear the braking warning. He said the fire erupted soon after the crash, near the center of the plane, but that most passengers were able to get out ahead of the conflagration.Another passenger, William Russell, told the Daily News that when the plane hit the end of the runway “It felt like we were floating and then we bellied down.” Russell said the belly landing probably saved many lives.Ketchikan resident Glen Scott told the Daily News the crash occurred so fast there was almost no time to panic on the plane.“It wasn’t a hysterical type of Hollywood thing,” he said. One of the 43 passengers died. At the time, it was the deadliest crash in U.S. Aviation history. Some said it still had its landing gear up when it passed the terminal. Among the recommendations by the safety board was that crew members need to be more assertive if they witness unusual behavior by the captain.Although the report noted the runway was not particularly long, it determined that the jet should have had plenty of stopping distance under normal circumstances.In 2009, nearly 30 years after the crash, the FAA improved the safety margins at Ketchikan International Airport by adding 2000 feet to the runway. One of the 43 passengers died. The witnesses differed on just where the plane touched down. As shocked local residents watched, an Alaska Airlines 727 landed in inclement weather and then went careening off the end of the runway and exploded into flames in a ravine near Government … At least one flight attendant suffered rib fractures. Fire equipment from Ketchikan arrived at 8:40 am, and help was also provided by the Coast Guard and Ketchikan Fire Department fireboats.Later, the investigation determined that the Borough “had taken too lightly” the management of the airport and had not provided proper safety planning or fire training for the airport employees. He said he was aware that an Alaska Airlines pilot had successfully executed a similar maneuver at the Ketchikan Airport several months previously prior in similar conditions.But, Captain Burke testified, he couldn’t get the engines to respond quickly enough to get the plane airborne again.According to the NTSB report, several passengers on the flight “anticipated the accident because of the high speed of the aircraft after touchdown and the lack of deceleration.”Two ground witnesses, who were pilots, also reported to the NTSB that all of the plane’s landing gear wasn’t down until the plane was nearly 3,000 feet down the runway, nearly half of its 7,500 foot length. The NTSB determined that the pilot’s landing approach did not conform to Alaska Airlines’ procedures for visual or instrument landings and that the landing gear was not down early enough. The captain’s attempt to “go around” was unsuccessful, and the jet crashed in a ravine 700 feet beyond the end of the runway. The aircraft touched down fast (at 145kts) with a 3 knots tailwind component.PROBABLE CAUSE: "The captain's faulty judgement in initiating a go-around after he was committed to a full stop landing following an excessively long and fast touchdown from an unstabilized approach. By May of 1976, the FAA surveyed the airport again and determined that the areas of “non compliance” had been addressed.Overall, the NTSB determined that the accident proved “survivable” primarily because the way the plane crashed led to numerous ways of quick escape for passengers and crew.