February 6, 2000
Web posted at: 3:04 a.m. EST (0804 GMT)

RENO, Nevada (CNN) -- An Alaska Airlines flight bound for Seattle, Washington, from Reno, Nevada, returned to the Reno- Tahoe International Airport late Saturday after the pilot reported intermittent problems with its primary and secondary trim motors.

Monday an Alaska Airlines MD-80 jet crashed off the coast of California, killing all 88 people aboard. That crash happened after the plane's crew had reported problems similar to those experienced by the flight from Reno.

"The trim motor moves the horizontal stabilizer up and down. And as a precaution the pilot decided to return to the airport," Jack Evans, spokesman for Alaska Airlines, told CNN.

Flight 631, an MD-80, with 129 people on board landed safely. "I want to stress this was reported as a minor problem. Probably what we are seeing are overly cautious pilots who may be overheating the trim motors. If you cycle the motors more than a minute or minute and a half, it may cause them to overheat," Evans said.

The plane left Reno at 7 p.m. local time. Evans said another plane was being flown in to get the passengers to Seattle and said that mechanics were checking out the problem.

Earlier this week an American Airlines jet made an emergency landing in Phoenix. The National Transportation Safety Board said flight data recorder information showed the MD-83's stabilizers were "unresponsive or intermittent."

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