From the ‘in case you wondered too’ file: Jet that ‘passed low’ over Admiral

Sometimes it takes a while to get information. Here’s one such case. In the 8 am hour Wednesday, we got some questions about a low-flying Alaska Airlines jet that some said “buzzed Admiral.” Flightradar24 showed Alaska flight 676 looping back to Sea-Tac shortly after takeoff (here’s a screenshot). We asked the airline what happened. This morning, we got the answer:

Alaska Airlines Flight 676 Seattle-Omaha returned to Sea-Tac Airport shortly after take-off due to what was ultimately a faulty indicator light. Our standard operating procedure is to return to the departing airport. The aircraft landed safely without issue. We swapped planes and got our guests back out about 3.5 hours later. We apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused our guests.

Jon Wright December 10, 2020 (12:34 pm)

It crossed the north end of the peninsula at about 2,000 feet with a ground speed of nearly 250 mph.

Pamela December 10, 2020 (12:37 pm)

I DID wonder actually. Thank you for the information! Always appreciate the service you provide for our community!

AlkiLovesAlaska December 10, 2020 (5:24 pm)

In an emergency, the pilots will have to take immediate action. They’re not saying what the indicator light was but it must have beem important to get back on the ground as quickly as possible!

Bradley December 10, 2020 (5:39 pm)

Hmmm. Wonder where they did the fuel dump and it’s impacts. Glad they did make it back safely.

WSB December 10, 2020 (5:46 pm)

They don’t routinely do fuel dumps. Covered that in the recent bird-strike situation.
Dawson December 10, 2020 (6:53 pm)

The 737 doesn’t have a fuel dump system. They’ get as aerodynamically dirty (flaps/gear) down as reasonable/possible and burn the fuel down to landing weight for field performance.

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