Tag Archives: ksea

FedEx Sneak in But the Background is Good

While on the hunt for a different aircraft, I was getting some shots of the aircraft coming in to SeaTac from the south.  I was pleased to see a FedEx jet showing up on FlightRadar24 but it seemed to be rather close to another plane.  It turns out they were scheduling them in on roughly parallel approaches and the FedEx was going to the center runway – not near me.  I was a bit annoyed and the view of the center was a bit obscured from where I was.  Haze was also going to be a problem – plus the odd power line.  However, there was one upside.  Mount Rainier is in that direction so, while the shot wasn’t what I wanted, it wasn’t a total loss.

Icelandic Veteran With a Smoky Engine

Icelandair has made a good business of operating Boeing 757s on routes from Iceland to the US with Seattle being a regular destination for years.  There was a time when the 757 was a cutting-edge jet but these days they are getting up in years.  Similarly, the RB211-535E4 was once considered very advanced.  Now, it is dated.  It turns out that one of the engines on this flight is in a little better shape than the other.  As they cycled the power on the approach, the starboard engine was noticeably smokier.  Not a big deal but I guess it has been on the wing a little longer than its partner.