Mcdonnell Douglas MD-83 incident near Seattle, Washington, March 12, 2000
On March 12, 2000, a Mcdonnell Douglas MD-83, registered N974AS, suffered minor damage in an incident near Seattle, Washington. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 2 people had minor injuries; 91 others were unhurt. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The flight crew's encounter with a suspicious device, which necessitated an emergency evacuation.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 12, 2000
- Place
- Seattle, Washington · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- 2 people had minor injuries; 91 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas MD-83
- Registration
- N974AS · registry record · serial 53450
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
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
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: 11,800 hours in all; 8,347 in this make and model; 6,583 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 21,741 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, March 13, 2000; 103 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 161,000 lb
- Seats: 148
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-217C (turbojet); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SEA WA
- Destination: ONT Ontario CA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: not reported
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 5 | |||
| Passengers | 2 | 86 |
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.