Tower At Sea-Tac Mysteriously Silent For Half Hour

At about 3:15 a.m. on April 11, the crew of a 747-400 inbound to Seattle-Tacoma Airport radioed the tower for permission to land. There was no response. On the ground, a Delta jet was ready to back away from the gate, but also got silence on the frequency. The 747 crew reached someone in a nearby radar facility, who sent a guard to the tower, and at 3:40 the facility was back online. An airport spokesman said the incident was under investigation, and the FAA had no comment. Only one person was required to be on duty in the tower cab during that time, but starting the next day, minimum staffing was upped to two. That change was already in the works, the FAA told The Associated Press.