An Alaska Airlines aircraft was expected to depart Wrangell on Wednesday after spending six days in town for replacement of a failed engine.

The right-hand engine — the starboard side, for mariners — failed as northbound Flight 65 was just starting its takeoff roll last Friday, Oct. 23.

There were no injuries, and the plane returned to the terminal.

Within a second or two of starting to rev up the engines and roll for takeoff, “there was a loud pop off the right side,” said Orin Pierson, a passenger on the flight who was sitting near the wing.

“Most of the passengers were silent,” said Pierson, who is the publisher of the Petersburg Pilot newspaper. 

The plane did not swerve and there was no smoke, he said.

From his window seat, he could see the airplane crew and airline ground personnel inspecting the engine after the plane pulled up at the terminal.

Within a few minutes of the incident, Pierson said, the pilot announced, “We experienced an engine failure and this plane isn’t going anywhere.”

All of the passengers disembarked and their baggage was taken off. The plane was moved away from the terminal to await repairs.

A replacement engine was flown into Wrangell on Sunday, Tim Thompson, the airline’s director of public relations, reported in an email Monday morning.

“The repairs are underway and expected to be completed by Wednesday.”

On Friday, the airline chartered Breakaway Adventures, filling two of their boats to ferry travelers to Petersburg. The boats were full, Pierson said, adding, “It was a beautiful day for a boat ride.”

Passengers reached Banana Point, at the southern end of Mitkof Island, about a 40-minute drive from downtown Petersburg, about 2 p.m. that afternoon, he said.

Alaska Airlines flew in another aircraft early that evening to pick up passengers from the stricken plane and take them to their destinations in Juneau and Anchorage. The company brought in food for the temporarily stranded passengers.

The temporary loss of the Boeing 737-700 will not affect the airline’s scheduled service into Wrangell, Thompson said.

The 700 Series is the oldest plane in the company’s fleet of almost 240 aircraft, averaging about 25 years old. Alaska plans to retire its 11 737-700s next year and put the slightly larger 800 Series aircraft in their place on the Wrangell route.