Boeing 737-300 N368SW

Summary

On 24 February 2004 at about 17:30 local time, a Boeing 737-300 registered N368SW was involved in an incident near Seattle, Washington, United States. 94 people were on board and nobody was injured. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

24 February 2004 at 17:30

Classification

Incident

Location

Seattle, Washington, United States

Nearest airport

Seattle-Tacoma Inyternational (KSEA)

Coordinates

47.4489, -122.3094

Aircraft

Boeing 737-300

Registration

N368SW

Category

Airplane

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Oakland → Seattle

Aircraft damage

Not recorded

Weather

VMC

NTSB number

SEA04IA045

Nobody was injured.

The First Officer's misidentification of the parallel taxiway as the active runway, resulting in the need for a sidestep maneuver while on short final for a full-stop landing. Factors include sun-glare from wet paved surfaces, a visual illusion created by the size and shape of the taxiway, and the Captain's failure to adequately monitor the First Officer’s approach.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

While west of the airport, the flight crew was cleared for the Bay Visual Approach to Runway 16 Right. The First Officer, who was flying at the time, made a right turn over Elliott Bay and lined up on what he believed to be Runway 16 Right, but was in fact Taxiway Tango. When the aircraft was about one mile from the end of the taxiway, the first officer noticed a yellow X located just off the northern end of the surface he intended to land on. Upon realizing he was lined up on the wrong surface, he initiated a sidestep to Runway 16 Right. He subsequently completed an uneventful landing on Runway 16 Right, and taxied to the gate for a normal deplanement of the passengers. According to recorded radar tracking data, at the time of the turn to initiate the sidestep, the aircraft was approximately 600 feet above the ground (AGL). The size and shape of the taxiway made it look very much like a runway to the First Officer, and although he was eventually able to see the Runway 16 Right identification markings, because of the glare on the wet surfaces, he never did clearly see any markings that indicated Taxiway Tango was a taxiway. Although the Captain had correctly identified the runway surface when the aircraft first rolled out on final, flight deck distractions kept him from realizing that the first Officer was lined up on the taxiway until the sidestep maneuver was initiated.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.