The three-engine jet made two flyovers of the Downtown area at 2 p.m. before circling in for an uneventful short-field landing on the field’s 4,000-foot runway, with many members of the public watching from the Northway Mall parking lot just east of the field.
Anchorage Assembly members unanimously approved the landing at the body’s Feb. 12 meeting, with the jet expected never to leave Merrill Field again.
UAA spokesperson Jessica Hamlin says the 727 is named “Two Bears,” after the son of longtime Anchorage FedEx manager Hugo Yturralde. It is being given to the university's Aviation Technology Center at Merrill Field to help train students.
The aircraft that landed Tuesday in Anchorage was only one of two Boeing 727s donated by the shipping company, with another one destined for the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Video provided by Brian Ireland
Contact Chris Klint
