What happened
On April 5, 1976, Alaska Airlines Flight 60, a Boeing 727-81 registered as N124AS, was performing a scheduled flight from Juneau to Seattle with an intermediate stop in Ketchikan, Alaska. The aircraft was carrying 43 passengers and 7 crew members. During the approach to runway 11 at Ketchikan International Airport, the flight crew transitioned from an instrument approach to a visual approach after establishing contact with the ground.
Upon touchdown, the aircraft was traveling at a high rate of speed and landed approximately 1,500 feet past the runway threshold. The pilot attempted to execute a go-around after realizing the braking action was insufficient; however, during this maneuver, the thrust reverser mechanism failed to disengage fully, preventing the acquisition of necessary forward thrust. Unable to stop the aircraft on the runway, the pilot steered the plane to the right and climbed over a service road and gully. The aircraft eventually came to rest in a ravine approximately 700 feet beyond the end of the runway.
There were 0 fatalities and no reported injuries among the passengers or crew, though flight attendants were unable to reach their jumpseats before impact.
Findings
Investigations into the accident identified several contributing factors regarding the approach and the subsequent decision-making process:
- The approach was unstabilized, characterized by excessive airspeed, high altitude, and improper flap and landing gear configurations.
- The pilot's decision to initiate a go-around after having already committed to a full-stop landing was a primary factor in the excursion.
- The crew abandoned the precision instrument approach in favor of a visual approach despite weather conditions that necessitated instrument procedures.
- High airloads on the thrust deflector doors prevented the recovery of forward thrust during the aborted landing attempt.
- While the captain had a medically disqualifying hearing loss, there was insufficient evidence to prove this contributed to the crash.