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AS 139 ORD-ANC 11/26/2017, Diverts to FAI.

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AS 139 ORD-ANC 11/26/2017, Diverts to FAI.

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Old Oct 26, 2017, 8:24 pm
  #1  
DUT
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AS 139 ORD-ANC 11/26/2017, Diverts to FAI.
AS 139 got close to Anchorage, but then diverted to Fairbanks. Anybody know why? I'm flying this route Sunday, so have been tracking reliability last couple days... Just curious...

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Old Oct 26, 2017, 8:55 pm
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"Safety reasons". Took a right turn about twenty minutes out from ANC.


Comments:
SCHEDULE ACTUAL DELAY/CANCEL ARRIVAL
CITY ARRV DEPT ARRV DEPT CODES GATE
ORD ORIG 835A 817A
FAI F 1130A 1200N 107P HG
ANC 1228P TERM

5ORD/PLZ ATTEMPT TO PUSH EARLY DUE TO HEADWINDS. THXS. *0415*FCF7RS
3ORD/ETD0830A ON-TIME *0415
4ORD/OUT0817A OFF0847A *0849
2FAI/ON 0103P IN 0107P 1.37L *1609
3FAI/ETD0730P 7.30L DUE PILOT CREW *1808
2ANC/ETA0840P 8.12L PROJECTED *1808
Still hasn't taken off for ANC.
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Old Oct 26, 2017, 9:10 pm
  #3  
DUT
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Interesting, seems like they traveled further to get to Fairbanks vs just continuing to Anchorage?

Thanks for the info...



Originally Posted by rustykettel
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Old Oct 26, 2017, 10:04 pm
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Originally Posted by DUT
Interesting, seems like they traveled further to get to Fairbanks vs just continuing to Anchorage?

Thanks for the info...
Previous day's flight total time was 7:49... that's a very long haul for a 737. With limited diversion options in AK, my guess is as soon as the pilots determined there was a chance of a delay getting into ANC (ATC, weather, etc), they decided to divert to FAI for fuel.

Not an unreasonable decision - that's what they're paid to do!
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Old Oct 26, 2017, 10:20 pm
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Presumably this was on 10/26/2017 (October, the current month), not 11/26/2017 unless OP is a soothsawyer.
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Last edited by MSPeconomist; Oct 26, 2017 at 10:29 pm Reason: Typo
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Old Oct 26, 2017, 10:25 pm
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Originally Posted by DUT
Interesting, seems like they traveled further to get to Fairbanks vs just continuing to Anchorage?

Thanks for the info...
Fairbanks is closer to Chicago than Anchorage is.
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Old Oct 26, 2017, 10:29 pm
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Originally Posted by alphaeagle
Fairbanks is closer to Chicago than Anchorage is.
Perhaps, but is that true if you first fly almost to Anchorage and then divert to Fairbanks? See the flight path linked above.
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Old Oct 26, 2017, 10:30 pm
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Originally Posted by spongenotbob
Previous day's flight total time was 7:49... that's a very long haul for a 737. With limited diversion options in AK, my guess is as soon as the pilots determined there was a chance of a delay getting into ANC (ATC, weather, etc), they decided to divert to FAI for fuel.

Not an unreasonable decision - that's what they're paid to do!
That could well be it. AS757 MSY-SEA diverted to DEN tonight for refueling. From the twitter feed, it sounds like it was planned prior to departure too.
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Old Oct 26, 2017, 10:34 pm
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Originally Posted by notquiteaff
Perhaps, but is that true if you first fly almost to Anchorage and then divert to Fairbanks? See the flight path linked above.
Oh, didn't see that. But for most of the flight if you were aiming directly towards ANC you could still switch to FAI and get there in a shorter distance. Doesn't matter in this situation though given their flight path.
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Old Oct 27, 2017, 1:02 am
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Could have been the very strong winds we've been having on Thursday in Anchorage that caused the diversion.
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Old Oct 27, 2017, 6:30 am
  #11  
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almost 7 hrs on the ground in FAI, according to FlightAware ... unless ANC has a runway closed for construction (i.e., crosswind component on the available runway was beyond limits), or the crew timed out, that's a looooong time to refuel for a 40-minute hop
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Old Oct 27, 2017, 10:46 am
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Looks like they swapped to a different aircraft in FAI, which would help explain the layover there.

I’d guess it was an issue with questionable weather in ANC, so they made the call to divert to FAI as a precaution as ORD-ANC since that route is at the top end of a 737’s range, especially with headwinds. Won’t be at all surprised to see this one go to the MAX for obvious reasons.
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Old Oct 27, 2017, 11:02 am
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There was moderate turbulence (and possibly worse) on approach to ANC yesterday. My guess is they wanted to avoid all possibility of having to divert at the last minute.
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Old Oct 27, 2017, 11:16 am
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Originally Posted by Bethelite
There was moderate turbulence (and possibly worse) on approach to ANC yesterday. My guess is they wanted to avoid all possibility of having to divert at the last minute.

My hunch is that the high winds yesterday were the trigger. There were sustained winds of 35 to 60 MPH with gusts up to 80 MPH along the Turnagain Arm and over the mountains.
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Old Oct 27, 2017, 1:04 pm
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Originally Posted by AKCuisine
My hunch is that the high winds yesterday were the trigger. There were sustained winds of 35 to 60 MPH with gusts up to 80 MPH along the Turnagain Arm and over the mountains.
Feels like March.
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