Alaska 737 flight snafu brings FAA, airline probe Pilots failed to pressurize cabin, then ignored attendants' requests to land

Don Phillips; The Washington Post

WASHINGTON - The pilots of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 failed to pressurize their aircraft as the plane climbed after takeoff from Portland in March, causing passenger oxygen masks to pop down and sparking an investigation by the airline and the Federal Aviation Administration.

After discovering their mistake, the pilots pressurized the plane. But ignoring requests from flight attendants to return to Portland so passengers could get needed medical attention, the pilots continued the flight to San Jose with the depleted oxygen masks dangling in front of passengers for the next 90 minutes.

This meant that the plane flew without emergency oxygen for

passengers at a flight level - 41,000 feet - that can cause death or brain damage in any sudden depressurization without emergency oxygen.

According to interviews with Alaska Airlines officials and sources close to the investigation, the pilots failed to report the incident immediately or call the airline's maintenance base to ask for advice.

Airline sources said angry flight attendants reported the incident to the airline after the plane landed, after insisting to reluctant pilots that paramedics meet the plane to take care of some passengers who seemed to be having problems.

David Marriott, an Alaska Airlines spokesman, said both pilots were put on administrative leave pending a hearing Tuesday.

The incident is the latest in a string of troublesome events that have dogged the Seattle-based airline.

The first was the crash of Flight 261, which plunged into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California on Jan. 31, killing all 88 people on board.

A young ramp employee was killed last weekend when his own baggage tug somehow started and pinned him against an airplane.

And Tuesday, the airline announced it was pulling all advertising from The Seattle Times because an airline ad appeared with a "deaths and funerals" banner normally used on the obituary page.

The March 25 incident involved Flight 506, a morning departure from Portland to San Jose with 92 passengers, including one infant, and five crew members. The flight was assigned to a new Boeing 737-700.

As the pilots taxied out for takeoff, they failed to turn on the plane's air conditioning equipment. The aircraft cannot be pressurized without operating air conditioning packs, which provide "bleed air" for both heating and cooling.

According to a 737 pilot who did not want to be named, the "after start checklist" on a 737 contains an item reminding pilots to turn on the bleed air. There also is a checklist for loss of cabin pressure.

The use of air conditioning packs and pressurization "are a basic part of pilot training, and are well-covered in Alaska's pilot training," Marriott said.

After the plane landed, he said, officials ordered the aircraft flown back to the Seattle maintenance base with only the crew on board. The plane was checked there, and fresh oxygen-generating canisters were installed. Marriott said mechanics found no indication of any equipment malfunction.

Sources close to the various investigations said the first indication of trouble came at 10,000 feet when cockpit warning horns and lights went off. Nonetheless, the pilots continued to climb.

At 14,000 feet, as the pressure inside the cabin continued to drop, overhead oxygen masks deployed and an automated announcement told passengers to pull them down to start oxygen flowing and to put them on.

At that point, the pilots descended to 10,000 feet, discovered the source of the problem and turned on the air conditioning packs. Flight attendants asked them to return to Portland because several passengers were asking for more oxygen and may have been having medical problems.

However, the pilots refused, sources close the investigations said. They climbed to 41,000 feet and continued the flight. The flight attendants insisted that paramedics meet the plane after landing. There is no indication whether any passenger needed medical attention.

Sources said there is a dispute between the pilots and the flight attendants as to whether the pilots knew the oxygen masks had deployed. The pilots claimed they did not, but flight attendants said they saw a pilot go to the restroom, look back at the masks and have an unspecified "odd reaction."

An FAA spokesman said no determination has been made on action against the pilots, although sources said a 180-day suspension was being considered at lower levels in the agency. However, that may well be changed as the recommendation is considered at higher levels.

) The Washington Post

05/26/2000

http://www.tribnet.com/news/top_stories/0526a14.html

-- Doris (number9@mindspring.com), May 26, 2000