The cause of a
rough landing
For an Alaska Airlines flight departing from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport bound for John Wayne Airport in 2023, the issue was attributed to “extensive grinding” of an aft trunnion pin.
The friction from the pin associated with the left main landing gear of the Boeing 737-800 generated enough heat to cause damage to the underlying metal, which resulted in fatigue cracks leading to the pin breaking upon touchdown.
based on the concluding report
as reported by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
On August 20, 2023, Alaska Airlines Flight 1288 touched down at approximately 11 p.m. at John Wayne Airport. The passengers aboard the flight were then deplaned.
KING 5 told me at the time it felt like
the left side of the plane “slammed into the runway.” In video shot by passengers, sparks could be seen coming from the area under the left wing.
According to the NTSB, none of the 112 people aboard the aircraft were hurt.
“Alaska Airlines and those aboard were fortunate that the situation did not escalate further and didn’t result in a fire, as once flames start, anything can happen,” stated Aviation Consultant Scott Hamilton back in September 2023.
Hamilton stated that there have been analogous incidents resulting in fires with fatalities aboard.
As stated in the NTSB’s concluding report, the fatigue crack on the pin had been present for a minimum of 797 landing cycles.
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