ANC98LA122

Factual narrative

On August 14, 1998, about 1540 Alaska daylight time, a Boeing 737-400 airplane, N799AS, sustained substantial damage during landing at the Juneau International Airport, Juneau, Alaska. The flight was being conducted under Title 14, CFR Part 121, as a scheduled domestic passenger flight, operated by Alaska Airlines, Inc., as Flight 75. There were no injuries to the two pilots, three flight attendants, or the 140 passengers aboard. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight plan had been canceled prior to initiating the visual approach. The flight originated at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Seattle, Washington, about 1350 Pacific daylight time. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge, on August 17, the Captain/Check Airman reported the accident flight was the First Officer's second Initial Operating Experience (IOE) training flight after being hired by Alaska Airlines. He stated that the First Officer was making a visual approach to runway 26, and on initial touchdown the airplane "skipped" and became airborne. The captain said that during the initial touchdown he noted that the throttles were not in the fully retarded position. At this point, the Captain closed the throttles and instructed the first officer to maintain attitude as the second touchdown approached. He said that the auto spoilers then deployed, and the airplane settled onto the runway in a nose high attitude. The Captain characterized the second touchdown as "firm", but well within acceptable limits. After landing rollout, the airplane was taxied to the gate, and all of the 140 passengers disembarked uneventfully. A subsequent inspection by ground personnel discovered a 4 feet by 1 foot scrape located on the belly of the airplane, between stations 887 and 941. The airplane was later flown to Seattle, unpressurized, for further inspection, and repair. Maintenance personnel were required to replace a 2 feet by 7 feet section of aircraft skin, prior to returning the airplane to service. The airplane's flight data recorder (FDR) was removed and shipped to the NTSB's Washington, D.C., laboratory for analysis. The FDR readout showed that the first flare attained a pitch angle of 7 degrees. After the "skip," the pitch angle was lowered to 5 degrees, and then raised to about 8 degrees. The nose continued to rise prior to the second touchdown, and attained a pitch angle of 9.65 degrees. The operator's flight crew/instructor training guide states: "Maintain pitch attitude awareness during flare and landing. Aft fuselage contact will occur at approximately 9.5 degrees." A representative from the airline's flight safety department noted that the subject of landing pitch angle limitations will be placed on the agenda during the next instructor meeting, and addressed as an item of increased emphasis. The captain/check airman reported that the accident flight was the first officer's second Initial Operating Experience (IOE) training flight after being hired by the airline. He stated that the first officer was making a visual approach to runway 26, and on initial touchdown the airplane 'skipped' and became airborne. The captain stated that during the initial touchdown he noted that the throttles were not in the fully retarded position. The captain said that at this point, he closed the throttles and instructed the first officer to maintain attitude as the second touchdown approached. He said that the auto spoilers then deployed, and the airplane settled onto the runway in a nose high attitude. The captain characterized the second touchdown as 'firm', but well within acceptable limits. After landing rollout, the airplane was taxied to the gate, and all of the 140 passengers disembarked the airplane uneventfully. A subsequent inspection by ground personnel discovered a 1 foot by 4 feet scrape located on the belly of the airplane, between station 887 and 941. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12