# Incident 19980503012949I: Boeing 747*, Seattle, WA, May 3, 1998

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 3, 1998, 19:00 local time
- Place: Seattle, WA
- Airport: Seattle-Tacoma International
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: Foreign air carrier (Part 129)
- Operator: BRAF
- Location: 47.4499° N, 122.3118° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at SEATTLE-TACOMA INTL (SEA), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=47.4499&lon=-122.3118&mi=10
- Aircraft: GBDXD (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: BOEING 747*
- People aboard: 4
- Fatal injuries: 0
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980503012949I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

NARRATIVE: AIRCRAFT DEPARTED SEA FOR LONDON APPROX. 400 MILES OUT STARTED TO DUTCH ROLL, JETTISONED FUEL AND RETURNED TO SEA, LANDED WITHOUT INCIDENT. PILOT REPORTED FLIGHT CONTROLS AIRCRAFT DUTCH ROLLING IN CRUISE, SUSPECT BOTH YAW DAMPERS. PILOT'S AVIATION SAFETY REPORT: DURING INITIAL CLIMB, CRUISE AND SUBSEQUENT DESCENT, AIRCRAFT SUFFERED ROLL OSCILLATION WITH AUTOPILOT ENGAGED AND MANUAL FLIGHT. AIRCRAFT DIVERTED BACK TO KSEA. INITIALLY AIRCRAFT REQUIRED TWO UNITS OF LEFT RUDDER TO KEEP FROM ROLLING. THEN WITH A/P ENGAGED STARTED A ROLL OSCILLATION. ALL THREE AUTO PILOTS TRIED. BOTH YAW DAMPERS INDIVIDUALLY SELECTED OFF WITH NO IMPROVEMENT. AIRCRAFT FLOWN MANUALLY AND WAS DIFFICULT TO CONTROL IN ROLL. DUMPED FUEL AND DIVERTED BACK TO SEA, HANDLING NO BETTER ON FINAL. BOTH YAW DAMPER COMPUTERS CHANGED. AIRCRAFT RETURNED TO SERVICE.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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