He also served for a time with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Legal Statement. Instead it went the other way., What do you think. Ileana Ost, 30, San Bruno, Calif.She had just returned to work at the Alaska Airlines ticket counter in San Francisco after four months of maternity leave following the birth of her first child, Emily. Push push push, push the blue side up!, Okay, now lets kick rudder, left rudder, left rudder. What temperature outside is unsafe for babies? Barbara Hatleberg, 64, Eugene, Ore.The wife of Glenn Hatleburg, mother of three and grandmother of two, she was retired but used her skills at accounting and finance to volunteer in the office of her church. Did maintenance errors cause the tragic crash? She was also accompanied by her longtime companion, Charles Russell. However, the plane ran into a streak of at least two or three grease applications that were not done correctly, including one in September 1999 by a notorious San Francisco-based mechanic who was later found to have applied virtually no grease to any of the jackscrews he worked on. When he measured the wear on the jackscrew nut and found it to be exactly one millimeter (0.040in), he concluded that the nut had reached the end of its service life and issued a work card ordering its replacement. He was working in Microsofts games group as a temporary employee for ArtSource. The Knights, who had recently celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary at the time of the crash, began their ministry with Bible readings in their home in 1978. Web19K views 2 years ago. Okay, give me sl see, this is a bitch! said Thompson. Discovery Company. 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.. Investigators also found that the planes gross weight at the time of the accident was about 50 pounds (22.7 kilograms) over the approved maximum. View on timesmachine. The Gulf of California stretched out below them, bright and blue. Watching the death throes of flight 261, the SkyWest pilot told controllers, Yeah, hes inverted., Okay, said the controller, apprehension evident in his voice. Over the next couple minutes, the pilots found the plane to be reasonably stable at lower speeds. She was traveling with her fiance, Malcolm Branson. Contact me via @Admiral_Cloudberg on Reddit, @KyraCloudy on Twitter, or by email at kyracloudy97@gmail.com. It might be mechanical damage too. It can be interpreted (and alcoholics often reverse the order in their mind) that he therefore feels lost and is drinking and using drugs to run away from that sadness. Please enter valid email address to continue. You heard it in the back? Tansky asked. Gabriela Chavez, 33, Puerto Vallarta, MexicoA homemaker, wife and mother of one, Ms. Chavez was flying to San Francisco to visit her sister. I clicked it off, Thompson said. In September of 1997, maintenance workers in Oakland performed the aforementioned test on N963AS and found a wear depth of exactly one millimeter. And then, as the plane passed through 23,400 feet, a warning light flicked on in the cockpit: AUTOPILOT TRIM, it said. Sheryl Thompson, 33, Valdez, AlaskaTraveling with her parents, Morris and Thelma Thompson, Ms. Thompson was an important figure in extreme skiing in Valdez, helping organize annual events. A ground-service agent for Horizon Air, she was outgoing and athletic, an avid volleyball player who hoped to become a personal trainer. Avinesh Prasad, 19, BurienA beloved employee of HomeGrocer.com and a star on the company soccer team, he moved from Fiji with his family when he was 18. All large airplanes have what is referred to as a trimmable horizontal stabilizer. On every level, it was a tragedy that did not need to happen and to this day, it serves as a grim example of the depths to which an airline may fall when oversight becomes too thinly stretched. When daughter Grace was born two years ago, he started saving Sundays for family. Different speeds and phases of flight require the stabilizer to apply varying amounts of downforce on the tail in order to keep the plane level, and further adjustments must be made to ensure that the pilots dont have to continuously pull up or push down using the elevators in order to climb or descend. 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. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. 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. The pilot of Flight 261, Capt. WebOn Flight 261, the nut portion of the jackscrew (located on the horizontal stabilizer) screwed itself off the jackscew. He was survived by his wife, Gabriel, two daughters and two sons. Mechanical stops attached to the jackscrew prevent the stabilizer from moving farther than 2.5 degrees upward or 12.5 degrees downward. Even though the pilots fought for control for a short period, an MD-80 will not And so it was that on a sunny day in January 2000, 83 passengers and five crew boarded Alaska Airlines flight 261 in the resort city of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, bound for San Francisco, California. 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. The only layer of protection against a catastrophe was therefore the assumption that poorly trained, low-paid maintenance workers would apply enough grease. Lets do that. Thompson attempted to move the stabilizer trim using either the electrical switches, the trim handles, or both, in an effort to clear the jam. Erickson indicated that he and the pilot had been drinking alcoholic beverages, investigator Brice Banning wrote. He was remembered for being a friendly neighbor and loving owner of two golden retrievers, Casey and Emma, and he loved to play the clarinet. The flight departs from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and arrives in Haines, Skip to content In 1991, after posting a record loss of $121 million, the companys business analysts concluded that to remain competitive, Alaska Airlines needed to reduce expenses. He retired in 1989, but continued his column, which began in 1973. He lived in Brier with his partner, Charlene Sipe. Luque had worked at Taste Catering in San Francisco since 1994. Market data provided by Factset. Despite Alaska Airlines numerous regulatory violations, the investigation ended in 2003 without any charges being filed. SkyWest 5154, the MD-80 is one becoming two oclock about ten miles now. Following the incident, Arntson retired from Alaska Airlines. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. WebOn Flight 261, the nut portion of the jackscrew (located on the horizontal stabilizer) screwed itself off the jackscew. CNN A former Alaska Airlines pilot plans to plead guilty in California to flying with a blood-alcohol level three times the legal limit for pilots. You did try the suitcase handles and the pickle switches, right? the maintenance technician asked. As Fred Miller, father of crash victim Abby Miller-Busche, put it in a 2003 interview, It seems like such an unholy type of loss. Thats affirm, said Thompson. That plane just started to do a big, huge plunge, said one pilot. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. By this point the amount of force he needed to apply to the control column to keep the nose level was pushing him to the limit of his physical ability. The criminal investigation also proved to be a disappointment. 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. While Tansky held the plane steady, Thompson contacted LAX maintenance again. 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. 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. Flight 261 immediately plunged into a near-vertical dive, hurtling downward toward the Pacific Ocean. Pilots of nearby planes caught sight of flight 261 and radioed Los Angeles air traffic control. And therein lay the problem: throughout the period leading up to the crash, Alaska Airlines slowly removed all the procedural layers of redundancy which were designed to prevent the jackscrew from deteriorating to the point of failure. Bermudez was a firefighter who helped save the life of a person trapped inside a burning building in 1988. Okay, we had a big bang back there, said the flight attendant. Abigail Busche, 25, SeattleRecently hired by Microsoft as a permanent employee, she was traveling with her husband, Ryan Busche. View on timesmachine. They heard a helicopter, but they were unable to fire the flare gun successfully and the helicopter left. The report noted that the crash could have been avoided if they had immediately returned to Puerto Vallarta when they encountered the jammed stabilizer. 2016 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Video of the flight as well as the cockpit voice recorder confirm this. Average Alaska Airlines Pilot yearly pay in the United States is approximately $186,628, which is 234% above the national average. Retired from a career at the U.S. Treasury, he collected miniature trains and loved to take his wife on rail trips. As any good crew should do, Thompson and Tansky then pulled out the checklists for a runaway or inoperative stabilizer. When greased regularly, the nut on the MD-80 series is designed to last for 30,000 flight hours before requiring replacement long enough that most planes will see only two or three different jackscrew nuts during their entire time in service. He came to America from Fiji when he was 17 months old. Juan Marquez, 34, San FranciscoAn adult-education book salesman, he owned two condos in Puerto Vallarta with his partner, Dale Rettinger, and went there often to relax. Described by friends as a soft-spoken, caring person, Ms. Thompson is survived by two sisters. Did maintenance errors cause the tragic crash? Mr. Marquez was flying home alone while Mr. Rettinger stayed behind for a longer vacation. 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. This was not one of those cases. The maintenance technician, having received all the information he could get, said, Okay, thank you sir, see you there., Meanwhile, the conversation had apparently encouraged Captain Thompson to try moving the stabilizer again. She grew up in Sacramento. 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. 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. By torqueing the screw up and down without turning it, and measuring the amount of play in the system, it was possible to roughly determine the depth of the wear on the nut threads, which the manufacturers guidelines stated must be less than one millimeter. All rights reserved. Its on the stop now, its on the stop, Thompson said. We are at twenty three seven, request, uh, Thompson said to the controller. Finally, the stabilizer was to be moved repeatedly between full nose up and full nose down so that the nut could spread the grease evenly over the entire jackscrew. 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. She played fast-pitch softball in high school and soccer at Bellevue Community College. With the jackscrew completely separated from the nut, aerodynamic forces acting on the stabilizer pushed it up beyond the normal full nose down position, halting only when the mechanical stop on the bottom of the jackscrew slammed into the nut. He had treated his cousins, Avinesh Prasad and Avinesh Amit Deo, to a trip to Mexico. Aloysius Han, 65, Oakland, Calif.A retired architect for Pacific Gas and Electric Co., Mr. Han often traveled to Mexico, where he owned a condominium and other property. All of these factors could have contributed to their decision to troubleshoot a problem that was best left alone. Robert Gandesbery, 69, Davis, Calif.The husband of Jean Gandesbery, Mr. Gandesbery was retired from a career with child-welfare services. The single mother of a daughter, Hailey, and an avid fitness buff, she was an attendant with the crew of Flight 261.Looo. 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. Both Captain Thompson and First Officer Tansky posthumously received the Air Line Pilots Association Gold Medal for Heroism. 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. Nine years after the cost-cutting began, Alaska Airlines was posting profits again, its fleet was expanding, and passenger numbers were higher than ever. The Piper PA-22-150 left Girdwood at about 4:15 p.m. and crashed 15 minutes later in steep terrain on Goat Mountain, investigators said. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much PLANE CRASH, Alaska Airlines Flight 261, Pacific Ocean Other Videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list more. Thompson was an Air Force veteran who had flown for Alaska Airlines for more than 17 years. Although the exact identity of the Eskimo is unknown, some believe it to be the face of either Chester Seveck, a reindeer herder in Kotzebue, or Oliver Amouak, an Inupiat Eskimo. A Warner Bros. The evidence indicates that he had flown with an alcohol level more than three times the legal limit, US Attorney Nicola T. Hanna said in a statement. He had planned to spend his retirement trading stocks on the Internet and taking leisurely afternoon walks with his wife of 30 years, Bonnie. I need everything picked up and everybody strapped down, he said, cause Im gonna unload the airplane and see if we can gain control of it that way. His intention was to fly at lower speeds where there would be less aerodynamic force pushing up on the stabilizer. Busche was traveling with his wife, Abigail Busche, whom he met when they were students at Western Washington. Harry Stasinos, 54, BrierMr. No survivors Erickson indicated that he and the pilot had been drinking alcoholic beverages, investigator Brice Banning wrote. I really didnt want to hear about flow being the reason youre calling us, he said to the dispatcher, Cause Im concerned about overflying suitable airports., Well we want to do whats safe, said the dispatcher, so if thats what you feel is safe we just want to make sure you have all the info., The pilots asked for information on the runway conditions in San Francisco, and the dispatcher temporarily signed off to go find some. Yeah, we are out of 26,000 feet, we are in a vertical dive not a dive yet, but uh, weve lost vertical control of our airplane., However, slowly but surely, Thompson and Tansky started to rein in their excessive speed and flatten out the slope of the dive. The longer it went without being greased properly, the faster the jackscrew wore down the threads on the nut. Tragically, they didnt. An airliner cannot truly fly upside down maintaining level flight in such a condition is essentially impossible, and the engines will quickly die but if anyone ever came close, it was Captain Thompson and First Officer Tansky as they heroically tried to save their stricken aircraft, even after all hope was lost. Colleen Whorley, 34, SeattleAn art director at Microsoft, Ms. Whorley honed her skills in photography. View on timesmachine. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Yes sir, he he hit the water, said the SkyWest pilot, his voice nearly cracking. It got worse, okay. Violent vibrations shook the airplane. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also revoked his pilots license. Visit r/admiralcloudberg to read and discuss over 190 similar articles. Charles Russell, 65, Scotts Valley, Calif.Mr. Her husband, Lee, 41, and children, 5-year-old Barbara and 11-year-old Daniel, stayed behind in Mexico. Rescue vessels raced to the crash site three kilometers east of Anacapa Island in the Santa Barbara Channel, hoping to find survivors. For comparison, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles, it is illegal for adults to operate motor vehicles with blood alcohol concentrations of 0.08 percent or higher in the state of California; that percentage drops to 0.04 percent for those operating commercial vehicles. Uh, if you want to try it, thats ok with me, if not, thats fine. How should I dress my baby in 69 degrees? The trim might be, and then it might be uh, if somethings popped back there. WebAlaska Airlines Flight 261 was a flight from Licenciado Gustavo Daz Ordaz International Airport in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico, to SeattleTacoma International Airport in Seattle, Washington, United States, with an intermediate stop at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, California. Market data provided by Factset. Rodrigo Laigo, 53, Fairfield, Calif.An engineer for Arco, he was traveling with his wife, Naomi, on one of their many golf vacations.
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