Crew Received Indication Of Landing Gear Problem

With the recent FAA obsession on airliner maintenance, you could call this awkward timing. An Alaska Airlines first officer was treated for possible smoke inhalation after an unknown problem in the cabin of an older 737 after landing Thursday morning at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Five crewmembers and 103 passengers were evacuated using the emergency slides.

What is known at this point is that Flight 529 was delayed 10 minutes on its flight in from Los Angeles after an indication of a problem with the plane's nosegear. After a low pass to allow tower controllers to visually confirm the gear was down, the plane made an uneventful landing, but what was called a hazy smoke appeared in the cockpit, and the captain ordered the evacuation.

The FO did not require hospitalization. Two passengers reportedly requested medical attention after the evacuation.

The Seattle Post Intelligencer says the airline and the FAA are investigating the incident, which involved one of Alaska's 40 Boeing 737-400 "Classic" airliners.

As ANN reported earlier this year, the airline worked with the agency to determine a cause of four separate flap-related emergency landings involving three of the carrier's -400 "Combi," or combination cargo- and- passenger-carrying, planes. All four no-flap landings were uneventful, and the airline since removed the flap door coverings on all its -400s.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.alaskaairlines.com