Loose Cowl Doors Shred On Alaska 737
The networks were buzzing with cellphone video of the loss of the left engine cowling doors on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-900ER departing Seattle earlier this week. The incident was…
The networks were buzzing with cellphone video of the loss of the left engine cowling doors on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-900ER departing Seattle earlier this week. The incident was definitely attention getting as the doors flapped in the slipstream before shredding after touchdown on the abbreviated return to Sea-Tac. There were no injuries, but hunks of aluminum rattled the fuselage as the plane rolled out so there are some dings in the airframe at a minimum.
The aircraft took off for San Diego just after 7 a.m. on Monday and almost immediately the crew felt vibrations and passengers on the left side watched as the thin aluminum peeled up and back from the engines. The plane did a 40-minute loop over Puget Sound before the eventful but safe landing. The 176 passengers were loaded on another 737-900ER for the trip to Southern California.
