McDonnell Douglas MD-83 N974AS

Summary

On 12 March 2000 at about 00:25 local time, a McDonnell Douglas MD-83 registered N974AS was involved in an incident near Seattle, Washington, United States. 93 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was slightly damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 March 2000 at 00:25

Classification

Incident

Location

Seattle, Washington, United States

Coordinates

47.4404, -122.2797

Aircraft

McDonnell Douglas MD-83

Registration

N974AS

Category

Airplane

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Ontario

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

Unk

Light

Not Reported

NTSB number

SEA00IA050

2 people had minor injuries.

The flight crew's encounter with a suspicious device, which necessitated an emergency evacuation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to officials from the Federal Aviation Administration, a passenger inadvertently picked up a backpack containing a Modular Bomb System (MBS), a security testing device used for training security personnel. The passenger then boarded the airplane. During climb, a flight attendant discovered the device and reported it to the flight crew. The flight attendant said that there was a bag that looked like a bomb. The captain had the first officer verify the flight attendant's observation. The captain requested an emergency return to Seattle, and asked for emergency equipment to stand by. After landing, the airplane was directed to a remote location and the crew performed the emergency evacuation

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.