Mcdonnell Douglas MD-82 incident near Anchorage, Alaska, July 11, 2000
On July 11, 2000 at about 7:38 pm local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas MD-82, registered N935AS, was involved in an incident near Anchorage, Alaska (Anchorage Intl airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 107 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
An inoperative traffic alert and collision avoidance system (TCAS).
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 11, 2000 · about 7:38 pm local time
- Place
- Anchorage, Alaska · Anchorage Intl · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 107 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas MD-82
- Registration
- N935AS · no longer on the register · serial 49236
- 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 crew of a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 airplane reported a near midair collision, about 15 miles north of the airplane's destination airport, while operating in Class E airspace. The captain of the MD-82 said that during the initial part of the approach, while descending through 4,000 feet msl, instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) prevailed. He added that approach control then cleared him to descend to 3,000 feet msl, on a heading of 160 degrees, and reported that there was traffic about 1 mile to the southwest, with an indicated altitude of 2,500 feet msl. As he started to level the airplane at 3,000 feet msl, and as the airplane descended below the clouds, he immediately saw a twin-engine airplane climbing from 2,500 feet toward his airplane. He said that he had very little time to react before the twin-engine airplane passed to the left and below of his airplane, about 500 feet horizontally, and 200 feet vertically. The captain added that his airplane's traffic alert and collision avoidance system (TCAS) was inoperative at the time of the incident. Subsequently, no collision avoidance alert was provided to the crew of the MD-82. A review of approach control records revealed that the twin engine Piper Seneca was not in contact with approach control, nor was it required to be, while operating within Class E airspace. A review of air-ground radio communications tapes revealed that the controller advised the MD-82 pilot that there was conflicting traffic, about one mile southwest of his location, headed in a northwesterly direction, and that the altitude was indicating 2,500 feet. About 20 seconds later the pilot of the MD-82 reported to the controller, in part: "...ha, that was pretty close on that traffic."
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 18,459 hours in all; 5,548 in this make and model; 134 in the last 90 days; 16 in the last 30 days; 9,465 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: November 20, 1999
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 149,500 lb
- Seats: 148
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-214A (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SEA Seattle WA at 12:00 pm
- Destination: ANC Anchorage AK
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: not recorded; scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 5 | |||
| Passengers | 102 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N935AS the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.