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Earthquake
Rocks Seattle Aerospace Companies
A 6.8 earthquake
rocked the Pacific Northwest on February 28. The 45-second quake
injured dozens of people, several critically. It inflicted some of
its most serious damage to the headquarters of coffee provider
Starbucks Corp. About 30 tourists visiting the Space Needle became
trapped on the 600-foot tower's observation deck. The Space Needle
shut off its elevators until it could guarantee they were safe to
ride. The day after the quake Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
was operating at 50 percent capacity, landing only 24 flights an
hour. Several stretches of elevated highways and on-ramps were
closed for inspection with some supports showing signs of damage
that could take a week or more to repair. The quake knocked out
electric service to about 230,000 homes and businesses, but the
local power grid held up well and was quickly restored.
Boeing, the
region's largest employer, closed most of its Seattle-area
facilities, which included engineering support services for Sea
Launch, Resource 21, Connexion and classified satellite and missile
defense programs. On the day of the quake Boeing sent home about  70,000
workers from offices and factories throughout the Puget Sound area.
Boeing’s headquarters building south of downtown Seattle was
closed due to damage to the building and to telecommunications
equipment. Boeing reported that approximately 20 employees were
treated for injuries ranging from muscle strains and bruises to a
broken ankle. None of the injuries were considered serious.
Deliveries of narrow-body jets, produced at the Renton plant, could
be disrupted for up to two weeks. It could take that long to repair
damage to the runway at Boeing Field, which is used for delivery of
Boeing's smaller jetliners. Currently, the airport is open only to
planes weighing less than 7260 kg (16,000 lbm), a limit that
precludes Boeing from using the field to deliver any of its jets.
Andrews Space and
Technology, the provider of this news service, located in the
downtown Pioneer Square area, also closed for the day. Andrews Space
employees will be working from other locations until our building is
declared safe to reenter and use. The tremor cracked or crumpled
many of the old brick buildings in the historic district, flattening
parked cars with avalanches of bricks and smashing sculptures and
paintings in local galleries.
General
Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (formerly Olin/Primex Rocket
Research), Teledesic, and Kistler Aerospace are other aerospace
companies located in the suburbs of Seattle. 
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