PANC closed by earthquake near Anchorage

[Carbon Bootprint]

The Federal Aviation Administration says operations have stopped at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport following the earthquake that rocked buildings and damaged roads.

FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer in Washington state said Friday it's not known when inbound flights will resume and that travelers should check with their airlines.

Kenitzer and Alaska transportation spokeswoman Meadow Bailey say telephone service is out at the airport.

The FAA spokesman says the airport tower was evacuated and flights that could be diverted were being sent to Kodiak.

He says inbound international flights to Anchorage were being guided by controllers at a regional radar approach facility.

Alaska Gov. Bill Walker tweeted that he has issued a disaster declaration.

Source article (https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/education/article/The-Latest-Tsumami-alert-for-southern-Alaska-13434655.php)

A 7.0 earthquake struck Anchorage at 08:29 local time on Friday. It was located just seven miles north of Anchorage and was a relatively shallow 25 miles deep, making it one of the most severe in Anchorage in several years. No injuries are reported, though there seems to have been some substantial infrastructure damage. Local news sources show severe roadway damage to the southern part of Anchorage near the airport.

I haven't been able to find it online, but there was a report on CBS news from the Anchorage affiliate that stated a FedEx plane on approach was told to go around as the quake struck.

The quake also triggered a tsunami warning that has since been cancelled.

[Airbubba]

I haven't been able to find it online, but there was a report on CBS news from the Anchorage affiliate that stated a FedEx plane on approach was told to go around as the quake struck.

It was FedEx 49, a B-77L IND-ANC:

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/FDX49/history/20181130/1029Z/KIND/PANC

The tower controller was emphatic on the go around instruction as the quake hit at the beginning of this clip:

http://archive-server.liveatc.net/panc/PANC-Twr-Nov-30-2018-1730Z.mp3

[Carbon Bootprint]

Thanks for that, Airbubba. I pretty much figured you would bet the one to find it. :ok:

The tower controller was emphatic on the go around instruction as the quake hit at the beginning of this clip:

http://archive-server.liveatc.net/pa...2018-1730Z.mp3 (http://archive-server.liveatc.net/panc/PANC-Twr-Nov-30-2018-1730Z.mp3)Right, there was certainly no mistaking the urgency in his voice. That whole clip is pretty good as they get things organized in preparation of evacuating the tower.

The FAA is reportedly now saying that some departures will resume. Meanwhile, the ground stop remains in effect for arrivals.

[PAXfips]

Cut down and captions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o80cNJ_XhX0

[Airbubba]

Thanks for posting that VASAviation edit, they always seem to do a good job with the ATC recordings. :ok:

[visibility3miles]

This comment belongs in Jet Blast, but I know someone who was at Travis AFB during an earthquake who said there were little puffs of dust as the earthquake rolled past each section of runway.

[tdracer]

Back in 2001, we had a 6.8 earthquake south of Seattle - and it hit SeaTac airport pretty hard. At the time my office was near Boeing Field, right under the approach to SeaTac. After the shaking stopped, we all evacuated to the parking lot - and I immediately noticed that aircraft were still flying overhead on their way to SEA (if you've never been in an earthquake, in the immediate aftermath you really don't know how bad it was because you don't know how close you were to the epicenter). There had been some serious shaking in our office building - partly because it was built on fill - so my first thought was maybe it wasn't that bad at SeaTac. Right about then we watched as the aircraft on approach all turned away - found out later the tower had all but collapsed - the windows had all broken and then they let go the roof came down (apparently the windows were structural) so it took ATC a minute to recover enough to tell everyone to go elsewhere...

[PAXfips]

Long version, including radar screen simulation/layover
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icfpzK7Bsu4

[izod tester]

Eleven miles North of Anchorage puts it almost right under Elmendorf.

[Carbon Bootprint]

Eleven miles North of Anchorage puts it almost right under Elmendorf.I'm not exactly sure where they're measuring from, but the epicenter was said to be about seven miles north, near Wasilla in the Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su) Valley. JBER (Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson) is actually only about two miles from downtown Anchorage. When I lived there and worked in an office facing north in one of the tallest buildings in Anchorage, I used to see F-15s, C-130s and E-3s fly in there all the time. Great sight! (These days I guess they would be F-22s.)

There were no problems reported at JBER, which is where the emergency response center is located. Governor Bill Walker gave a press conference from there last night after taking a Blackhawk tour around the area. I think things are also more or less back to normal at Ted Stevens International Airport (PANC). It was a pretty good jolt (biggest I saw in my time there was a 6.0) and they're still having aftershocks in the 4.5 range, but the measures they put in place after the big one in '64 seem to have been effective in preventing any catastrophic damage. Some roadways seem to be rather messed up and a lot of buildings have downed ceiling tiles, broken glass and busted water pipes, but I suspect that'll be sorted pretty quick and everyone will just get on with it as always.

[Angel`s Playmate]

F-Street ok ? :):)

[Carbon Bootprint]

F-Street ok ? :):)
You mean F Street Station? I hope so! :ok:

I suppose like a lot of places they've got some broken glassware and such. However, I haven't seen any reports of serious problems downtown.

[misd-agin]

This comment belongs in Jet Blast, but I know someone who was at Travis AFB during an earthquake who said there were little puffs of dust as the earthquake rolled past each section of runway.
Quito Ecuador has puffs of dust in the valley one day. Local person "that's where the earthquakes are today."

[A Squared]

Eleven miles North of Anchorage puts it almost right under Elmendorf.
I'm not exactly sure where they're measuring from, but the epicenter was said to be about seven miles north, near Wasilla in the Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su) Valley.

The epicenter was actually closer to downtown Anchorage than it was to downtown Wasilla. It was across Knik arm from Elmendorf. If you know where the Goose Bay airport is over there, it was located to the south of Goose Bay. Aftershocks still going on. Just had a M 4.7 rattle the house.

[Carbon Bootprint]

The epicenter was actually closer to downtown Anchorage than it was to downtown Wasilla. It was across Knik arm from Elmendorf. If you know where the Goose Bay airport is over there, it was located to the south of Goose Bay. Aftershocks still going on. Just had a M 4.7 rattle the house.
Thank you for that, A Squared. I will certainly defer to you since you're local and I'm just watching from a distance but with a keen interest in the area.

Yes, I know Goose Bay airport, I've been there several times. It's not relevant to this discussion, but we used to have a boat at Big Lake (and a cabin at Lazy Lake that burned down in the big fire) which is not far away.

I've been through just about every type of natural disaster there is, but earthquakes are probably the most terrifying. Most all the others can be somewhat foreseen, but these things arrive suddenly and unannounced. Stay safe.

[A Squared]

...but we used to have a boat at Big Lake (and a cabin at Lazy Lake that burned down in the big fire) which is not far away..

Hmmm, not familiar with "Lazy Lake" is that an informal name? Was it burned in the Miller's Reach fire? (1996)

[Carbon Bootprint]

Hmmm, not familiar with "Lazy Lake" is that an informal name? Was it burned in the Miller's Reach fire? (1996)It's not that much of a lake, more like a large pond suitable for sailing a Sunfish but not much else. I'm not sure if it's a formal name or if it's just used because it's off Lazy Lake Drive a bit northeast of Big Lake. Yes, it was burned in the '96 fire.

[Airbubba]

I was wondering how the tower got back on the air so quickly after the evacuation.

Pickup truck used as air traffic control tower at Anchorage airport

Friday, December 7th 2018, 8:24 AM AKST
Updated: Friday, December 7th 2018, 8:42 AM AKST

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Shortly after the 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck near Anchorage, Alaska (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/alaska-earthquake-today-anchorage-tsunami-alert-issued-live-updates/) last week, a work truck had to be used as a mini air traffic control tower at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. The air traffic control tower had been evacuated after the quake hit and concerns mounted about the stability of the tower, CBS Anchorage affiliate KTVA reports (https://www.ktva.com/story/39602682/not-ready-for-air-pickup-truck-used-as-air-traffic-control-tower-at-anchorage-airport).

Moments after the quake hit, air traffic controllers told a FedEx plane to go around the runway. Airport officials say the jet was about 300 to 400 feet in the air, about to land, when flight controllers told the pilot not to touch down.

Airport operations duty manager John Stocker told KTVA they had no idea yet the extent of the damage to the runways.

"For the same type of things that you saw for the on-ramps, you could have had surface that could have changed as much as a foot," Stocker said. "Well, if you're landing an almost million pound airplane you could easily damage the gear; do all sorts of different things. It's much safer at that point to be in air."

Before the tower was evacuated, airport officials controllers told pilots they would be landing without any communication from the tower. The pilots could only talk to each other and planes on the ground so their location would be known.He says three air traffic controllers who left the tower drove a pickup across the runways and parked near the side of one of them so they could see planes in every direction. Other controllers who were still in the tower spaced out the planes in the air, until pilots could receive further instructions.

Approximately eight planes were in the vicinity of the airport, including two Alaska Airlines passenger planes. Stocker says the first two or three planes landed safely on their own.

Then the three controllers in the truck, a Ford F-150, started communicating with pilots who were holding over Anchorage.
"You had a standard air to ground radio and you had the other radios we operate normally that they didn't use at all," Stocker said, referring to the equipment the controllers in the pickup were using.

Stocker says he, and a group of many other airport staffers, checked landing lights, runways and taxiways and deemed the areas safe for air traffic.

The controllers in the truck then guided remaining planes in for safe landings. Stocker says they operated like that for about an hour and fifteen minutes, directing flights inbound and outbound.

"You know these guys train for an awful lot of things and they're really pretty sharp. They really are good," Stocker said.
Stocker says only about 15 minutes went by from the time of the quake, to the runways being cleared to the first plane landing safely.








https://www.ktva.com/story/39602682/not-ready-for-air-pickup-truck-used-as-air-traffic-control-tower-at-anchorage-airport

[Carbon Bootprint]

^ I hereby nominate the Ford F-150 as the Official Truck of Air Traffic Control. :)

Great article, Airbubba, thanks for posting that. No doubt those guys are sharp, but it looks like they were really on their game when the earth moved.