As flight 261 climbed through 23,400 feet at approximately 13:49 that day, the badly worn threads started to tear away from the nut, wrapping themselves around the jackscrew and causing the stabilizer to jam. It was no wonder, given these findings, why Alaska Airlines mechanics didnt know how to grease the jackscrew, and why nobody held them accountable for not doing so properly. Were gonna stay up here and burn a little more gas, get all our ducks in a row, and then well be talking to LAX when we start down to go in there. The plan was to stay on course a little longer, burning fuel to reduce their landing weight and test out the planes handling capabilities, before turning around and heading into Los Angeles. We went to full nose down and Im afraid to try it again to see if we can get it to go in the other direction.. Friends said she was shy but very gentle and loving. Hard-working, compassionate and caring, the Pulancos shared their Beacon Hill home with two dogs and a cat. WebOn Flight 261, the nut portion of the jackscrew (located on the horizontal stabilizer) screwed itself off the jackscew. A Warner Bros. She is also survived by a son, Richard, in the Bay Area. Web19K views 2 years ago. On board flight 261, Captain Thompson vented to First Officer Tansky: Drives me nuts, he said. An accountant with MPL2.com in Bellevue, he was traveling with the Ryan family and several friends. For the relatives of the victims, this fact made it all the more important that Alaska Airlines pay for its negligence. WebAnswer (1 of 11): If the pilots of Alaska Airlines 261 had known exactly what was wrong, is there anyway they could have salvaged the situation? But in the end he was forced to accept a mere $500,000 settlement, far less than the $20 million he had sought, and only then on the condition that he resign from his job. ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) The pilot of an airplane in a fatal Alaska crash had six times the legal limit of alcohol in his system for flying, according to federal investigators. A case worker at the Northwest AIDS Foundation, he joined with his partner in a commitment ceremony two years ago at First Baptist Church in Seattle with one of their dogs as the ring-bearer. Less than one second later, Alaska Airlines flight 261 slammed into the Pacific Ocean, obliterating the aircraft and instantly killing all 88 people on board. Nina Voronoff, 32, San FranciscoA nurse at the pediatric cancer unit at the University of California, San Francisco, she had gone to Mexico for a yoga retreat and was met by her boyfriend, Larry Baldridge Jr. Renato Bermudez, 39, San FranciscoMr. He had treated his cousins, Avinesh Prasad and Avinesh Amit Deo, to a trip to Mexico. He was traveling with William Bryant, his best friend. Keep in mind that the pitch of the stabilizer itself is actually inverse to the pitch of the airplane.). Not that I want to go on about it you know, it just blows me away they think were gonna land, theyre gonna fix it, now theyre worried about the flow. Therefore the interval between jackscrew inspections was effectively increased from 26 to 30 months without the FAA spending a single minute looking into whether or not this was appropriate. James Jay Luque, 40, San FranciscoMr. The stabilizer is attached to a giant threaded screw, called the jackscrew, which feeds through a nut attached to the aircraft structure inside the tail. What caused Alaska Airlines 261 to crash? Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Thompson was an Air Force veteran who had flown for Alaska Airlines for more than 17 years. WebAlaska Flight 261 Pilots Awarded ALPA Gold Medal Air Line Pilot, March 2001, p. 22 By Chris Dodd, Staff Writer Two Alaska Airlines pilots who fought until their last moments to regain control of their MD-80 despite an inoperative horizontal stabilizer have been honored with ALPAs Gold Medal for Heroism in a special ceremony in Seattle. Busche was traveling with his wife, Abigail Busche, whom he met when they were students at Western Washington. Barbara Ryan, 54, RedmondBorn in Alabama, Mrs. Ryan worked in marketing for SmithKline Beecham Cinical Laboratories. At that moment they effectively were dead. Meanwhile, N963AS continued to fly, and maintenance workers continued to grease the jackscrew every eight months. Bryant was a travel agent who was excited when he received free tickets for a trip to Mexico. Luque had worked at Taste Catering in San Francisco since 1994. It was really tough there for a while.. With no grease at all, the rate of wear would increase by a factor of ten or more. Flight 261 was traveling from Puerto Vallarta to San Francisco on Jan. 31, 2000 when a mechanical malfunction inverted the jet and sent it downward off the Ventura County coast. He had planned to spend his retirement trading stocks on the Internet and taking leisurely afternoon walks with his wife of 30 years, Bonnie. One of six children born to Jovanna Luque of Olympia, Mr. Luque is the second child she has lost. And because of the increased interval between applications of new grease, a jackscrew with insufficient grease couldnt expect to see more until the plane had been in the air for another 2,250 hours. Jean Permison, 73, Scotts Valley, Calif.The mother of Ileana Ost, she had gone with her family for a long-awaited vacation celebrating her 73rd birthday. But in the end, Alaska all but got away with it. It might be mechanical damage too. Thompson was traveling with her husband, Morris Thompson, and daughter, Sheryl Thompson. Federal regulations limit alcohol levels to 0.04 for airplane crew members.Were the bodies of Flight 261 recovered? She grew up in Sacramento. Joyce Lake, 62, Corte Madera, Calif.She was the top seller at a local real-estate brokerage, an avid community activist and mother of three grown sons. Russel Ing, 28, SeattleA visual-arts graduate who worked in graphic design for Kinkos in Woodinville, Mr. Ing won awards for his photography. Fuck me, he said. She used to drive a riding lawn mower around their yard, and relax in the family swimming pool. It began life as a regional airline in Alaska, and by the time deregulation arrived in the late 1970s, it only had one destination in the lower 48 states. Uh, its a lot worse than it was? Tansky asked. I went tab down, right, and it should have come back. Im thinking, can it get any worse, but it probably can, he continued. Four minutes later, a warning light illuminated to inform the crew that the autopilot was unable to move the stabilizer. Keep us advised.. Mr. Sparks was a guard on his schools varsity basketball team, and is remembered as a champion of the underdog who stood up for less-popular classmates. A big, huge plunge, thank you, said the controller. By requesting any altitude between 20,000 and 25,000 feet, the crew of flight 261 could ensure that if they nosedived again, nearby planes wouldnt be in danger. Anything more than that and the nut would need to be replaced. But after Liotine left for the night, the next shift and the shift supervisors decided to run the test again before taking his measurement at face value. She was a food-and-beverage agent for Alaskas sister airline, Horizon Air. / CBS News. She is survived by her mother, Dr. Claire Barnett of Seattle, a family-practice doctor. Dr. David Clemetson, 40, SeattleA specialist in infectious diseases, Dr. Clemetson was traveling with his wife, Carolyn Clemetson, and the couples four blended-family children, Coriander, Blake, Miles and Spencer Clemetson. In the ten minutes that had passed since the dive, the stabilizer had been held at 3.1 degrees nose down by nothing more than the mechanical stop on the bottom of the jackscrew. Joan Smith, 53, Belmont, Calif.A manager of a San Francisco medical office, she had been called home on business from a monthlong vacation with her son, Jesse, and her daughter, Holly, whom she left behind in Mexico. The flight departs from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and arrives in Haines, Skip to content When he landed in Orange County, he was selected for random drug and alcohol testing, according to a statement from the US Attorneys Office. The 2 pilots, 3 cabin crew members, and 83 passengers on board were killed, and the airplane During the course of the investigation and in its final report, the NTSB issued a large number of recommendations, including that the lubrication procedure for the MD-80 series jackscrew be revised; that a more accurate method of measuring wear on the jackscrew be developed; that maintenance technicians be specifically taught how to grease and inspect jackscrews; that the FAA not approve lubrication interval extensions without the airline providing supporting data; that all airlines be surveyed to ensure compliance with jackscrew lubrication procedures; that a bulletin be issued instructing pilots not to troubleshoot inoperative flight controls; that maintenance personnel and dispatchers be trained not to suggest continuation of a flight that is experiencing a major malfunction; that the jackscrew be made easier for maintenance workers to access; that an inspector be required to sign off on every lubrication of the jackscrew; that all maintenance intervals for critical components be re-examined based on data analysis to ensure that they are not too long; that the application process for maintenance interval changes be reformed; that MD-80 series jackscrew inspections be made on a tighter schedule; that some failsafe mechanism be incorporated to ensure the redundancy of the MD-80 jackscrew; and that the FAA ensure future stabilizer designs cant have a single point of failure. Dean Forshee, 47, Benicia, CalifThe professional musician was a skilled pedal steel, acoustic and electric guitar player who taught lessons and devoted his life to music, especially country and rockabilly. He is survived by his wife of five years, Susan da Silva. The result was a chronic problem of Alaska Airlines MD-80s with poorly greased jackscrews. The pilots decided that Los Angeles looked better. Joe Knight, 54, MonroePastor and missionary Joe Knight, with his wife, co-pastor and co-missionary, Linda Knight, worked to help starving children and families in Mexico. Lorna Thorgrimson, 52, PoulsboTraveling with her husband, Robert Thorgrimson, Mrs. Thorgrimson was also accompanied by her close friends, Patty and Bob Williams. Planes inverted sir, a nearby pilot told the controller. But when we slowed down lets slow it, lets get it down to two hundred knots and see what happens., Now Thompson and Tansky slowed down and deployed the flaps and slats, simulating a landing configuration, to make sure the plane would be controllable on final approach. Traveling with Colleen Whorley in Mexico, he e-mailed a friend poetic descriptions of their time together. Push push push, push the blue side up!, Okay, now lets kick rudder, left rudder, left rudder. I dont know, my adrenalines going, said Thompson. Thelma Thompson, 56, Fairbanks, AlaskaMrs. In 2014, Arntson flew two Alaska Airlines flights, the first leg from San Diego to Portland, Oregon, followed by a second trip from Portland to Orange County, California, according to the criminal complaint. Alaska Airlines flight AS261 crashed on January 31, 2000, about 1621 Pacific standard time, Alaska Airlines, Inc., flight AS261, a McDonnell Douglas MD-83, N963AS : it crashed into the Pacific Ocean about 2.7 miles north of Anacapa Island, California.. AMERICAN AIRLINES PASSENGER BITTEN BY BROWN RECLUSE SPIDER ON PLANE, LAWSUIT CLAIMS. Even though the pilots fought for control for a short period, an MD-80 will not She edited the Floating Homes Association newsletter. Had it been inspected after 7,200 flight hours instead of 9,550, the excessive wear would have been discovered before the crash. Abigail Busche, 25, SeattleRecently hired by Microsoft as a permanent employee, she was traveling with her husband, Ryan Busche. The Gulf of California stretched out below them, bright and blue. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. A former Alaska Airlines captain faces jail time for piloting a plane carrying passengers while under the influence of alcohol, over four years after the incident took place. He was a vice president of business development for Creditland, Inc. An avid outdoorsman and Spanish language graduate of Western Washington University, he was traveling with his parents and with long-time friends, Michael Bernard, Ryan and Abigail Busche, Russel Ing and Deborah Penna. In September 2000, he filed a $20 million libel lawsuit against Alaska Airlines, arguing that he had been right all along and that Alaska had maliciously harmed his reputation. Video Alaska Airlines Pilot Accused of Flying Drunk - ABC News Jimmy Carter Kellie Pickler's husband dies Georgia shooting Escaped NYC zoo owl Tesla union launch Alaska Airlines Pilot Accused of Flying Drunk Authorities say 60-year-old David Hans Arnston flew drunk twice in one day. Stanford Poll, 59, Mercer IslandHe was a colorful and visionary entrepreneur with many business and property interests. William Bryant, 45, San FranciscoMr. Web3.3M views 1 year ago Air Alaska Flight 261 dives into the ocean shortly after takeoff, killing the 88 passengers and crew on board. But we will be going into LAX, and Id anticipate us parking there in about twenty to thirty minutes.. Los Angeles controllers gave flight 261 permission to approach the airport, but Thompson asked to stay out over the ocean while they tested the controllability of their airplane. But this very success may have planted the seeds of the disaster which followed. Key safety-related positions within the airlines management structure went unfilled. Hes in sight, hes, uh, definitely out of control, said the SkyWest pilot. The lead mechanic that day was John Liotine, a rare Alaska Airlines employee who still took safety seriously. She was traveling with her fiance, Malcolm Branson. The report says that at levels above 0.15, individuals may have significant loss of muscle control and major loss of balance. At levels over 0.20, individuals may experience amnesia or blackouts and double vision.. And hes just hit the water, said one pilot. With the stabilizer angled 3.1 degrees toward nose down, more than the design maximum of 2.5 degrees, flight 261 immediately entered a high-speed dive, hurtling downward at more than 6,000 feet per minute. The Safety Board found that this unsafe inspection interval was only approved indirectly by the FAA. The stabilizer on the MD-80 series rests on top of the tail, and like all airliners, it can move up and down to adjust the pitch angle at which the plane is stable. Then, additional grease was to be applied to the entire length of the screw, filling all the threads. Jacquelyn Choate, 17, Santa Cruz, Calif.She was returning from a vacation with her father, Toni Choate. All Rights Reserved. He was traveling with several college friends. Coriander Clemetson, 8, SeattleShe was a quiet, poised student at John Hay Elementary School on Queen Anne Hill. Gabriela Chavez, 33, Puerto Vallarta, MexicoA homemaker, wife and mother of one, Ms. Chavez was flying to San Francisco to visit her sister. She was also accompanied by her longtime companion, Charles Russell. Said the friend: Monte will always be an inspiration to stop myself from jumping in the rat race, to take the moment, to take it all in.. The pilots, 53-year-old Captain Ted Thompson and 57-year-old First Officer Bill Tansky, could not have known that they were about to play out the final chapter in a sordid story that had been building toward its conclusion for years. Mr. Williams wore a ring identifying him as a Mason; the ring was found off the California coast and saved as a gift for his daughter, Tracy Knizek. The pilot of Flight 261, Capt. What he liked best in life was family, said his longtime medical assistant. Okay, give me sl see, this is a bitch! said Thompson. Thompson was an Air Force veteran who had flown for Alaska Airlines for more than 17 years. It worked. Average Alaska Airlines Pilot yearly pay in the United States is approximately $186,628, which is 234% above the national average. Paul Pulanco, 40, SeattleLike his partner, Craig Pulanco, Paul Pulanco was an animal lover and avid gardener. But the measurements were imprecise and repeated tests often produced different results allowing a certain amount of ambiguity as to whether the value was over or under the limit. How long does it take for a potato to cook at 350? (To avoid confusion, from here on out nose up and nose down, as they relate to the pitch of the airplane, will be used to describe the stabilizers direction of motion. The massive aerodynamic force pushing up on the horizontal stabilizer was normally absorbed by the nut, but with its threads stripped, all that force was transmitted through the mechanical stop instead. What I want to do is get the nose up, and then let the nose fall through and see if we can stab it when its unloaded. It was his belief that the stabilizer might move nose up if there was no aerodynamic force pushing it upward into the nose down position. Even though the pilots fought for control for a short period, an MD-80 will not Yes sir, he he hit the water, said the SkyWest pilot, his voice nearly cracking. Many workers who greased jackscrews didnt apply additional grease to the screw itself after greasing the nut. N963AS nearly made it anyway its next jackscrew inspection was scheduled for March 2000. Should you poke holes in potatoes before boiling? Ryan Sparks, 20, EnumclawA graduate of Enumclaw High School, Mr. Sparks was traveling with his girlfriend, Meghann Hall, and her friend Rachel Janosik. The airline extended numerous maintenance intervals, while simultaneously skimping on personnel and training. Did you encounter any technical issues? The flight departs from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and arrives in Haines, Skip to content Were slowing here, and were gonna do a little troubleshooting, can you give me a block altitude between twenty and twenty five?. The logo was changed to an image of a smiling Eskimo, which remains today.
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