Loss of Steering Cited in Plane’s Hitting Terminal

The pilots of a Horizon Airlines plane radioed that they had lost steering almost 40 seconds before hitting a Seattle airport terminal in April, a transcript of cockpit conversations disclosed Wednesday.

“We’re out of control,” co-pilot Mark Hilstad told air traffic controllers shortly after the commuter plane made an emergency landing at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport with its right engine and wing aflame.

“I can’t steer this . . . thing at all,” pilot Carl Carlson said moments later. He then added: “Please stand by. We are going to hit something here.”

After a few more seconds Carlson said: “OK, hit the brakes. We’re going to hit this (expletive) here,” and then: “We’re going to do OK here. Hang on.”

Two seconds later, the aircraft slammed into the terminal, injuring 19 of the 40 people on board.

The transcripts, made public by the National Transportation Safety Board, suggested that the pilots learned of a problem with their right engine just after takeoff and asked to return to the airport.

But they apparently did not consider their aircraft to be in any great danger until a warning light showed that a fire had broken out in the right engine as they came in for their final landing approach.

The plane touched down on the airport runway, and Carlson discovered he could not steer it. The plane then veered across a grassy area, missed rescue vehicles and other aircraft, lost its landing gear and skidded into a jetway extending from the terminal.

Federal air safety investigators have not released their conclusions on the cause of the accident.