Alaska Airlines Flight Literally “Comes in Hot” to Anchorage

Last Thursday (3/29/2018) an evening Alaska Airlines flight from Juneau to Anchorage had a problem. At some point in the flight the cabin started to get hot, really hot. I spoke to several passengers that were on the flight  They reported that the temperature reached over 100 degrees Fahrenheit! Imagine being on that flight.

As the aircraft got hotter, the flight attendants started to crawl around on the floor in what seemed to be searching for a fire, one passenger reported. Another said the flight attendants were throwing ice on the floor. I’m not a fire guy, but I don’t think that would do much to put out an aircraft fire. Passengers started to grow increasingly concerned. There were no announcements from the pilots or crew about what was going on. Several passengers reported smelling what seemed to be burning plastic.

Many of the passengers I spoke with said the plane made a steeper and faster descent than normal. The normal landing procedure of making sure tray tables and seat backs were up did not occur. The plane made an emergency landing. It stopped on the runway and was immediately surrounded by fire trucks. One passenger said one of the pilots made an announcement saying the firefighters were checking the belly of the aircraft but did not elaborate past that. After around 20 minutes on the runway, the plane taxied to to the tarmac, where it was further inspected by firefighters. Passengers reported being on the ground for over 30 minutes before they were able to get off the extremely hot plane.

All of the passengers I spoke with said it was a very weird experience. Once the plane finally got to a gate, the passengers exited via a stairwell instead of a jetway. No one from Alaska Airlines was there to explain what happened. The next day, the passengers all received an email with an apology and a $200 voucher. But some of the emails seemed to be different. One that was sent to me had a more detailed apology, while another had a more basic apology. Maybe the high level people got the longer one!

Several elected and high level government officials were on the flight. If you have flown on the milk run flights before, you are well aware the 737 aircraft they use aren’t are the newer models. I actually just flew back from Juneau on Sunday (4/1/2018). I remember thinking that the 737 I was on reminded me of aircraft I have flown on in Tajikistan and Ukraine.

There is a big global market in used airliners. I have a theory about how it goes. The New York to LA flights are the nicest ones, Tier 1. The LA to Salt Lake or Omaha ones are one step down, Tier 2. The Alaska milk run ones are one more step down, Tier 3. And then those ones end up in Angola or Uzbekistan, Tier 4. Then off to the scrap yard.

Good to hear that no one was hurt. Hopefully Alaska Airlines will let the passengers, and public, know what happened to cause the extreme heat on the flight. This takes “coming in hot” to a whole new level.

Update

Alaska Airlines provided the Alaska Landmine the following statement regarding the incident:

On March 29, flight 67, from Juneau to Anchorage received a warning light from the cargo area about 20 mins before arriving in Anchorage. There was no fire or smoke present, but our guests did experience an uncomfortably warm cabin. Out of an abundance of safety, the crew declared an emergency for priority landing in Anchorage, landing at 11:20 pm. The aircraft was met by fire crews and personnel who inspected the cargo area. There was no evidence of a fire. The plane proceeded to the terminal and passengers were able to disembark normally. Maintenance evaluated the aircraft due to the reported heat issue in the cabin. It was determined a duct was redirecting hot air into the cargo area. We apologize to our guests for their experience and have reached out to them.

 

 

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Larry Beach
5 years ago

Much ado about nothing, must be a slow news day. They are the best airline I’ve ever flown,period!

Valerie
5 years ago

We did not deplane normally. We were given no explanation. Th cabin was unbearably hot and crew members crawling around on hands and knees feeling for hot spots was bizarre- we had to pick up items stashed under seats for fear of th combusting.
Alaska airlines has southeast hostage- a monopoly with no other service.
That flight had already overheaded Ketchikan because the flight we timed out ( they change in sitka and had to know this would occur when they left Seattle ) so we were late, hot, captive. Ridiculous