Boeing 737-400 incident near Juneau, Alaska, November 2, 1999
On November 2, 1999 at about 10:40 am local time, a Boeing 737-400, registered N792AS, was involved in an incident near Juneau, Alaska (Juneau International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 58 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the flight crew to provide a recommended landing traffic advisory, and the failure of flight service station personnel to provide a flight advisory to the arriving airplane concerning men and equipment operating on the runway. Factors in the incident were operations at an airport when the control tower was closed, and the failure of the snow plow driver to verify the eminent arrival of the airplane.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 2, 1999 · about 10:40 am local time
- Place
- Juneau, Alaska · Juneau International · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 58 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-400 · all 737-400s on the register
- Registration
- N792AS · no longer on the register · serial 28887
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The scheduled passenger flight was inbound for landing during the period of dawn. A cargo airplane was also inbound, preceding the passenger flight. The airport air traffic control tower (ATCT) was closed. An automated flight service station (AFSS) was in operation. AFSS personnel cannot see the runway. An airport maintenance crew was conducting snow removal training on the runway in a plow equipped truck. The passenger flight crew contacted the AFSS at the VOR (25.2 miles away), and advised they were inbound for landing. At that time, the plow was off the runway, waiting for the cargo airplane to arrive. The crew of the passenger airplane was not advised of any airfield maintenance activity. After the cargo airplane landed, the plow driver informed the AFSS of his intentions, and drove onto the runway to continue training. AFSS personnel advised the driver of the plow that the passenger airplane was about 10 minutes behind the cargo airplane. Without any further communication, the passenger flight touched down on the runway while the plow was driving along the right edge of the runway, facing away from the arriving jet. The passenger jet swerved to the left during the roll out to miss the plow truck. The right wing tip of the jet passed about 32 feet from the plow truck. The verbal report of men and equipment on the runway, given by the plow driver to the AFSS is a local NOTAM only. The local NOTAM was not transmitted to the arriving passenger flight. When the ATCT is closed, there are no mandatory reporting points for arriving airplanes. There are only recommended traffic advisories for position reporting of arriving traffic. The recommended traffic advisories are contained in the company flight operations manual.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 14,793 hours in all; 857 in this make and model; 46 in the last 90 days; 5,700 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,788 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, October 29, 1999; 96 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 143,500 lb
- Seats: 140
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Cfm CFM-56-3C-1 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Alaska Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: PASI Sitka AK at 10:00 am
- Destination: PAJN
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 8, 4,900 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 3,800 ft; scat at 1,600 ft
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:53 am from PAJ
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 5 | |||
| Passengers | 53 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.