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Touchdown: Alaska Jet Makes First Landing on Sea-Tac's New Third Runway
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10/2/2008 3:04 p.m.
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An Alaska Airlines 737-800 comes in for the first landing by a commercial passenger jet at Sea-Tac's new third runway.
An Alaska Airlines 737-800 made history today when it became the first passenger jet to land on the new third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
With Captains Bob Graves and Brian Holm at the controls, the aircraft made five touch-and-go landings on the 8,500-foot strip as part of a Federal Aviation Administration certification process of the runway's lights and instrument landing system.
Three of the touch-and-goes were made using the aircraft's head-up guidance system. The other two utilized auto-land technology. FAA officials marked the touchdown point of each landing with chalk to measure the accuracy of the runway's navigation aids.
Also onboard the test aircraft as safety observer was Captain and Instructor Pilot Jim Allen.
The Port of Seattle says a wide-body aircraft will test the runway next month.
According to port officials, the third runway will allow more planes to land and reduce delays by 44 percent during poor visibility. Sea-Tac's third runway is scheduled to open for regular commercial flights Nov. 20.
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