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Retired chief pilot warns against third runway

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A retired Northwest Airlines chief pilot with over 15,000 flight hours argues against the construction of a proposed third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, citing serious safety concerns including runway incursion risks, wind shear hazards from surrounding walls, and complications for fire and rescue operations. He contends that pilots will avoid the new runway because it is shorter and farther from the terminal than existing runways, meaning it will do little to reduce delays or increase capacity. Drawing a parallel to an unused commuter runway built at Sea-Tac in the 1970s, he warns that the $2 billion project will become a costly monument to poor planning.

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Op-ed by Captain Sven Holm, retired Northwest Airlines chief pilot and Western and Pacific Region Director of Flying, warning against the proposed third runway at Sea-Tac Airport. Published in Federal Way News. Holm argues the 8,500-foot third runway west of existing runways 16R-34L and 16L-34R poses safety hazards including a 170-foot vertical drop within 100 feet of the FAA Runway Safety Area, a 75-foot vertical wall at the north threshold, wind shear risks, increased runway incursion danger, fire/rescue equipment delays requiring crossing two active runways, and taxi delays. Compares proposal to the unused commuter runway 17 built in the early 1970s that was converted to taxiway C. Estimates cost at $2 billion with minimal capacity benefit due to airspace constraints shared with Boeing and Renton airports.

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