Plane from LA to Seattle is diverted to Sacramento airport – twice – after technical issue

Michael McGough, Hannah Shields
·2 min read
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A commercial flight from Los Angeles to Seattle was diverted Thursday afternoon in Northern California and landed at Sacramento International Airport following mechanical issues, authorities and airline officials said.

The flight then took off from Sacramento to continue on its way to Seattle, only for the issue to resurface and send the plane back to California’s capital city once again.

Alaska Airlines Flight 1219 was traveling from Los Angeles International Airport to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport when it doubled back just north of Redding, then flew south toward Sacramento, according to authorities and flight tracking websites.

Scott Johnston, a county spokesperson for the airport, said the plane — a Boeing 737-990 that has been in service with Alaska since 2003 — had an electrical issue but was safely on the ground after the first diversion.

“The crew experienced a mechanical indicator and followed standard procedures to divert to SMF,” Alaska Airlines said in a statement. “Maintenance met the flight on the ground (and) fixed the issue.”

The spokesperson initially said the flight was back in the air and about halfway to Seattle. Minutes later, just after 5 p.m., the spokesperson in another emailed response said the same mechanical indicator issue arose again, and that the plane was flying back to Sacramento.

The airline later blamed the problem on a “back-up generator system that safety and general maintenance protocols require us to inspect.”

The flight after its first diversion landed in Sacramento shortly before 2:15 p.m. It had departed Los Angeles shortly after 12:30 p.m. and was initially scheduled to land in Seattle around 2:45 p.m., according to flight tracking website Flightradar24.

Firefighters were dispatched to the field just after 2 p.m.; most crews were released at 2:20 p.m., according to radio dispatch calls.

Flightradar24 logs showed the plane landing a second time at Sacramento International Airport shortly before 5:30 p.m.

A spokeswoman for Alaska said Thursday night that the plane was “taken out of service for further inspection” and passengers were taken to their destination aboard a new plane with a new crew about 10:30 p.m.

“We apologize to our guests for the inconvenience and deeply appreciate their patience,” the airline said.

No injuries were reported in either diversion.