Sunday, July 7, 2024
Reading Time: 2 minutes
During a recent journey with Alaska Airlines, a major American airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, within the Seattle metropolitan area, passengers experienced an unexpected go-around. Alaska Airlines, the fifth-largest airline in North America by scheduled passengers, along with its regional partners Horizon Air and SkyWest Airlines, focuses on connecting cities along the West Coast of the United States to over 100 destinations across the contiguous United States, Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Mexico. The flight in question, operated by SkyWest Airlines as AS3352, involved an Embraer ERJ-175 departing from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) bound for Eugene, Oregon (EUG). As the aircraft descended through the clouds to an altitude of 1,300 feet, the pilot detected an issue with the landing gear, leading to an immediate go-around. The crew promptly managed other safety protocols, and all passengers were advised to brace for landing, which they accomplished safely 20 minutes later.
Details of AS3352
On the morning of Tuesday, July 2nd, the flight was slated to leave Los Angeles at 08:26 but pushed back slightly late at 08:37. The aircraft then maneuvered through the bustling airport and ascended from runway 25R, embarking on a journey typically lasting around one hour and 45 minutes.
The flight charted a northern course, ascending to a cruising altitude of 34,000 feet. It traversed over Fresno and the Sierra Nevada before beginning its descent over Oregon. At this point, encountering the gear issue at 1,300 feet, the pilot escalated the aircraft to 3,700 feet and redirected for another approach into Eugene, successfully landing on runway 34L at 10:45 local time, all passengers unharmed.
Embraer ERJ-175: N199SY
The involved aircraft, a 6.1-year-old Embraer, operated by SkyWest for Alaska Airlines, has been in commercial use since June 2, 2018, as per the ch-Aviation database. The jet, accommodating 16 in business class and 64 in economy, is equipped with two General Electric CF34-8E engines. Previously registered in Brazil as PR-ENY during its testing phase, the aircraft remained at Eugene for a thorough check, only resuming flight on July 4 as AS9794 to San Francisco. Post-inspection, it stayed overnight at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and was cleared for normal operations starting July 5. Since its return to service, no further complications have been noted with this aircraft.
