Boeing 737 incident near Seattle, Washington, December 19, 2015
On December 19, 2015 at about 4:31 pm local time, a 2015 Boeing 737, registered N477AS, was involved in an incident during landing (flare/touchdown) near Seattle, Washington (Seattle-Tacoma Intl airport). It was flown under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 153 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the flight crew's misidentification of the taxiway as the landing runway.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 19, 2015 · about 4:31 pm local time
- Place
- Seattle, Washington · Seattle-Tacoma Intl · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 153 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737 990ER, built 2015 · all 737s on the register
- Registration
- N477AS · registry record · serial 40716
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight crew inadvertently landed on a taxiway that ran parallel to the intended landing runway. About 5 miles from the runway and having been cleared to land on runway 16R, the tower controller asked if the flight would like to sidestep to runway 16C which had recently opened. The flight crew accepted and visually lined up with taxiway T, instead of the intended landing runway 16C. Although visual meteorological conditions were present, the sun was reflecting off taxiway T resulting in the flight crew visually focusing on it during landing. The flight crew and controller did not recognize the error until after landing.
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
What happened, in order
- Wrong surface or wrong airport during landing (flare/touchdown) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Light condition › Glare › Effect on personnel
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Identification/recognition › Flight crew
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 21,882 hours in all; 12,328 in this make and model
- Last flight review: June 12, 2015
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 949 in this make and model
- Last flight review: April 30, 2015
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,986 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, January 16, 2015; 1,986 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 188,200 lb
- Seats: 191
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Cfm International CFM56-7B27E (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Cfm International CFM56-7B27E (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Alaska Airlines INC
The flight
- Departed from: ORD Chicago IL at 12:17 pm
- Destination: SEA Seattle WA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 16C, 9,426 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Wind: from 140° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,500 ft; a few clouds at 1,600 ft
- Temperature: 37°F (3°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.89 inHg
- Observation at 3:53 pm from KSEA, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 6 | |||
| Passengers | 147 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
5 documents, released by the NTSB on September 22, 2021. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120 | PDF, 11 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Captain's Statement | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 3 | First Officer's Statement | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 4 | Flight Data Recorder - Specialist's Factual Report | PDF, 10 pages | View Download |
| 5 | Flight Data Recorder - Specialist's Factual Report - Attachment 1 - Tabular (Zip/csv) | zip file | Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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.