Alaska Airlines jet took off on wrong runway
Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, October 31, 2006
SEATTLE – Alaska Airlines and federal officials are investigating why one of the carrier’s jets took off from the wrong runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
The incident happened about 8:40 a.m. Monday when Alaska Flight 61, a Boeing 737, was preparing to take off for Juneau, Alaska, with four crew members and 63 passengers, airline spokeswoman Amanda Tobin Bielawski said Tuesday.
KING-TV, which first reported the incident, said the plane was told by air traffic controllers to depart from Runway 34 Center.
The pilots twice correctly read back that they were going from 34 Center, but instead took off from Runway 34 Right, KING reported, citing the Federal Aviation Administration.
The runway was clear, and air traffic controllers did not ask the plane to abort its takeoff, which occurred normally, Bielawski said.
Accused border guard released pending trial
A U.S. border guard accused of accepting cash and sexual favors from a female drug smuggler was released Tuesday on a $20,000 bond, against the wishes of prosecutors.
Federal Magistrate Judge Mary Alice Theiler also agreed to let the guard, Desmone Bastian, continue living in Surrey, B.C., where he will be monitored pending trial, scheduled for Jan. 2. Bastian has pleaded not guilty to one count of accepting a bribe and another of importing controlled substances.
Bastian is accused of accepting an undisclosed amount of money as well as sexual favors from a female smuggler who told federal agents that she is also a madam. According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Roe, the smuggler claimed that Bastian sometimes showed up at her house of prostitution wearing his U.S. Customs and Border Protection uniform.
In exchange for the money and favors, he would allow her to drive into the U.S. from British Columbia with OxyContin pills and marijuana, Roe said.
Brass vases stolen from 200 Seattle-area graves
At least 200 brass vases have been stolen from graves at two suburban cemeteries over the past few weeks, apparently by thieves looking to capitalize on soaring metal prices, King County sheriff’s deputies say.
The five-pound vases taken from Washington Memorial Park in SeaTac, near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and Sunset Hills Memorial Park in Bellevue, east of lake Washington, cost about $150 each, sheriff’s Sgt. John Urquhart said.
According to the Web site for West Seattle Recycling, the company is paying up to $1.40 a pound for brass.
First day at EPA, official is met by protesters
The region’s new Environmental Protection Agency administrator – a former Dow Chemical executive – was greeted by about two dozen protesters Monday, her first day on the job.
Activists raised concerns about Elin Miller’s 1996-2004 stint at Dow and her subsequent work with Tokyo-based pesticide maker Arysta LifeScience.
“EPA has a responsibility to protect the community and an appointment like this reflects their unwillingness to so,” said Jeri Sundvall-Williams, executive director of the Environmental Justice Action Group, in a joint news release from activist groups. It’s an example “of the fox guarding the henhouse,” she said.
“We know the public and EPA are not always going to agree on everything. We want people to know they’re being heard,” agency spokesman Mark MacIntyre said of the demonstration.
Associated Press
