Boeing DC-9-82 incident near Seattle, Washington, March 15, 2003
On March 15, 2003, a Boeing DC-9-82, registered N298AA, was involved in an incident near Seattle, Washington (Seattle-Tacoma International airport). It was flown under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 111 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 parallel taxiway as the active runway, resulting in the flight crew executing a landing on the taxiway. Factors include sunglare from the wet paved surfaces, and a visual illusion created by the airport surface environment.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 15, 2003
- Place
- Seattle, Washington · Seattle-Tacoma International · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 111 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing DC-9-82
- Registration
- N298AA · registry record · serial 49310
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Initially the flight crew planned to execute the visual approach to Runway 16 Right backed up by the ILS, but because there was a ceiling over the final approach course, they were advised to expect the ILS. The flight was then vectored to a 15 mile final and cleared for the ILS approach. About four to five miles from the end of the runway, at about 3,500 feet above the ground (AGL), the flight crew passed through the cloud deck, made visual contact with the runway environment, and transitioned to visual navigation. According to the information collected from the flight data recorder, the aircraft started a constant-rate deviation to the right of the localizer approximately the same time as it broke out of the clouds. During this deviation the flight crew maintained a heading that was taking them directly to the "approach end" of Taxiway Charlie. Neither the Captain nor the First Officer were aware they were lined up on the taxiway, and they did not know they had landed on the taxiway until advised by the tower. A rain shower had recently moved through the area, and although there was an overcast over the center and north end of the airport, south of the field rays of sunlight were shining through holes in the clouds, resulting in a degradation of the visual clues that would normally help the flight crew differentiate between the runway and the taxiway.
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, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,372 in this make and model
- Last flight review: September 4, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,521 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 51,944 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, March 11, 2003; 27 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 150,500 lb
- Seats: 136
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney JT8D-217C (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DFW Dallas-Ft Worth TX at 8:35 pm
- Destination: SEA Seattle WA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway T/W, 9,425 ft by 180 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 6,000 ft; scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.52 inHg
- Observation at 3:56 pm from KSEA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 6 | |||
| Passengers | 105 |
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.