Earlier this week, a Seattle-bound Horizon Air Dash 8-Q400 was forced to divert to Yakima, Washington. The reason for this unplanned stop was reports of possible sparks onboard. Let’s take a look at how exactly this incident panned out.
The flight in question
Alaska Airlines flight AS2256 is a daily scheduled regional service from Pasco Tri-Cities Airport (PSC) in the state of Washington. RadarBox.com reports that its scheduled departure time is 09:35 local time. After just 63 minutes in the air, it is then scheduled to touch down at Seattle–Tacoma International (SEA), one of Alaska Airlines‘ five hubs, at 10:38.
The service from Pasco to Seattle has only been using this flight number since May 20th. Previously, it was an evening flight from Los Angeles International (LAX) to Redmond Municipal Airport (RDM), which is situated in central Oregon.
However, this ceased in mid-March, with the designation AS2256 having a two-month hiatus in terms of scheduled flights. Alaska Airlines is not the only carrier to fly along the intra-Washington corridor that is Pasco to Seattle. Indeed, Delta Air Lines’ regional brand, Delta Connection, also connects Tri-Cities to Washington’s largest city.
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What happened?
On May 21st, flight AS2256 departed Pasco 23 minutes late, at 09:58. However, it was soon to fall further behind schedule. According to the Seattle Times, a flight attendant reported that electrical sparks were possibly present in the galley after departure.
As such, airing on the side of caution, the crew elected to divert the flight to the nearby Yakima Air Terminal McAllister Field (YKM). The Aviation Herald adds that the flight was at an altitude of around 16,000 feet, and 40 NM northwest of Yakima, when it diverted. It touched down in Yakima at 10:36, 38 minutes after its original departure from Pasco.
Upon landing, the aircraft was safely deplaned with no injuries to its occupants. With the aircraft temporarily withdrawn for inspection, a replacement Dash 8-Q400 took the passengers onwards to Seattle. This second leg left Yakima at 13:53, landing at SeaTac half an hour later at 14:23. The airline confirmed that its “maintenance team is taking a closer look at what happened.”
The aircraft involved
The aircraft in which the sparks were reported bore the registration N438QX. According to ch-aviation, it has flown for Horizon Air (on behalf of Alaska Airlines) for all 12.5 years of its working life, having arrived in December 2009. RadarBox.com reports that the aircraft repositioned from Yakima to Seattle at 17:00 on the day of the incident, and is back in service.
Meanwhile, the replacement Dash 8-Q400 that took flight AS2256’s passengers onwards to Seattle was slightly older, clocking in at around 14 years of age. Registered as N430QX, this 76-seater has also been at Horizon for its entire career since arriving in June 2007.
What do you make of this incident? Have you ever been on a flight that has diverted for a similar reason? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments.
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