Pilots flying in and out of Merrill Field were briefly asked to use a different radio frequency Monday after the Anchorage airstrip’s control tower was evacuated over an “indeterminate odor.”
In an email just after 3 p.m. Monday, Merrill Field office manager Darlene Sivyer said the odor and a “potential natural gas leak” had caused controllers to leave the tower.
Sivyer said Tuesday that tower officials had resumed operations by 3:20 p.m. Monday.
Correction: An initial version of this story inaccurately reported that the evacuation occurred Tuesday morning, not Monday afternoon.