Pilot Writes to Alaska Airlines, Giving Safety Concerns

A veteran Alaska Airlines pilot wrote to a company executive saying he was worried about the safety of a jetliner he flew on May 30, and suggested that the company needs to improve maintenance practices.

Capt. David Crawley, who has flown Alaska planes since 1984, said he became concerned after reviewing maintenance reports on an MD-80 jet he was operating on Flight 285 from Los Angeles to Seattle, the Seattle Times reported Sunday.

Crawley wrote that he had “serious questions regarding the airworthiness of the aircraft” and that he became deeply concerned as he reviewed maintenance reports of the jetliner.

Two flight attendants and at least four passengers at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport got off an Alaska Airlines jet before it left the ground Sunday after apparently becoming alarmed when they learned the plane they had boarded was the one referred to by Crawley.

Mechanics checked the plane and gave it a clean bill of health, an airline spokesman said. The aircraft arrived in San Diego without incident.

Crawley is one of the Air Line Pilots Assn.’s representatives on the National Transportation Safety Board team investigating the Jan. 31 crash of an Alaska jet off the California coast, which killed all 88 people on board. Crawley posted his letter on a restricted section for Alaska pilots on the Air Line Pilots Assn.’s Web site.

Alaska spokesman Jack Evans said Crawley’s complaint was misinformed.

“We’re confident that a pilot with Capt. Crawley’s credentials would not have taken an airplane into service unless he believed it was safe, despite his comments to the contrary,” Evans said.