The longer it went without being greased properly, the faster the jackscrew wore down the threads on the nut. In some accidents, relatives of those who died can take some small comfort in the possibility that their loved ones never knew what hit them. She was a flight attendant for Alaska. If they had not attempted to move the stabilizer immediately before the first dive, their chances of safely reaching an airport before the jackscrew failed entirely would have been much greater. Keep in mind that the pitch of the stabilizer itself is actually inverse to the pitch of the airplane.). 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. In theory this was adequate, but only if the grease was applied correctly every time. Market data provided by Factset. 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. David Hans Arntson, 60, was arrested Wednesday morning and arraigned in federal court in Los Angeles, according to a Department of Justice news release. Ryan Busche, 28, SeattleMr. Mrs. Busche grew up near Bow, Skagit County, near Mount Vernon. One of six children born to Jovanna Luque of Olympia, Mr. Luque is the second child she has lost. As such, it is critically important that the jackscrew be kept in good working order, primarily through the liberal application of grease at regular intervals. Yeah, we tried everything together, said Thompson. The rec room at the Karlsson home featured a jukebox, a pinball machine and a bumper-pool table. Rodrigo Laigo, 53, Fairfield, Calif.An engineer for Arco, he was traveling with his wife, Naomi, on one of their many golf vacations. Yeah, we got it back under control here.. 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. He was survived by his wife, Gabriel, two daughters and two sons. 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. More importantly, investigators felt that the pilots should not have attempted to troubleshoot the problem after exhausting the procedures in the checklist, considering that they didnt know the extent of the damage. Meanwhile, N963AS continued to fly, and maintenance workers continued to grease the jackscrew every eight months. Both were Alaskan natives. Alaska two sixty one, say again sir, said the controller. However, Alaska Airlines maintenance personnel often did it in as little as one hour not because they found a more efficient way, but because they didnt understand the proper procedure and skipped some of the steps. Both of them were creative, outgoing people. Who was the pilot of Alaska Airlines Flight 261? Ellen Masland Salyer, 51, Sebastopol, Calif.She was an active community volunteer who was dedicated to various organizations, including the Boy Scouts. You mean, use this again? Tansky asked, presumably pointing at the trim switches. Whatever we did is no good, dont do that again, said Tansky. Its on the stop now, its on the stop, 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. LOS ANGELES -- Federal authorities have arrested a former Alaska Airlines captain on federal charges of piloting a plane while intoxicated. Furthermore, the pilots were reluctant to believe that the failure was mechanical, rather than electrical, in nature. We did both the pickle switches and the suitcase handles, he told the maintenance technician, and it ran away full nose trim down., And now were in a pinch, Thompson continued, so were holding, uh, were worse than we were.. Upon deplaning in San Diego, he was randomly selected for drug and alcohol testing by the carrier. He was with his wife, Ileana, their 4-month-old daughter, Emily, and his mother and her longtime companion. 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. Alaska Airlines 261 is a chartered flight operated by Alaska Airlines. For two hours, the crew of the ill-fated jet had struggled with a malfunctioning stabilizer, unaware that this critical flight control system had turned into a ticking time bomb counting down toward catastrophic failure. Web19K views 2 years ago. Push push push, push the blue side up!, Okay, now lets kick rudder, left rudder, left rudder. He was traveling with his wife, Patty Williams and their friends Bob and Lorna Thorgrimson. But over the next two decades, Alaska Airlines pursued an aggressive strategy of expansion, aiming to become an affordable option for travelers throughout the Western United States. 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? 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. The effect was immediate and catastrophic, as his inputs ripped out whatever threads remained on the jackscrew nut. That was the how but the bigger question was why. Grace Pearson, 23 months, SeattleLittle Grace Pearson was traveling with her parents, Sarah and Rodney Pearson, and her sister, Rachel. Deborah Penna, 27, SeattleA fourth-year art student at Cornish College of the Arts, Ms. Penna was a multimedia artist known for her abstract paintings. Russel Ing, 28, SeattleA visual-arts graduate who worked in graphic design for Kinkos in Woodinville, Mr. Ing won awards for his photography. Had it been inspected after 7,200 flight hours instead of 9,550, the excessive wear would have been discovered before the crash. On board flight 261, Captain Thompson vented to First Officer Tansky: Drives me nuts, he said. Updated Pearson was the first chef at the Jake OShaughnesseys and F.X. View on timesmachine. You did try the suitcase handles and the pickle switches, right? the maintenance technician asked. As far as the pilots were concerned, the electric motors had probably seized and they could fly on to San Francisco without trimming the stabilizer. Okay, we are inverted, and now we gotta get it. Neither the electric switches (which the pilots called pickle switches) nor the fully manual trim handles (referred to as the suitcase handles) could move the stabilizer. Jacquelyn Choate, 17, Santa Cruz, Calif.She was returning from a vacation with her father, Toni Choate. Numerous people saw the plane flying parallel to a mountain ridge before it turned and descended. Web19K views 2 years ago. Federal regulations limit alcohol levels to 0.04 for airplane crew members.Were the bodies of Flight 261 recovered? 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. The threads eventually lost up to 90% of their thickness, compared to 22% at the maximum wear depth of one millimeter. He had gone to Mexico with his cousins, Anjesh Prasad and Avinesh Prasad, to celebrate. With Tom Church, he opened Six Degrees, which he hoped to turn into a chain of high-end neighborhood restaurants. The night shift subsequently performed the test five more times and measured a wear depth of approximately 0.84mm on each attempt. 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. She is survived by her mother, Dr. Claire Barnett of Seattle, a family-practice doctor. Former owner of a travel business, she was a very giving person, friends said, and was working toward a masters degree in art therapy. Gabriela Chavez, 33, Puerto Vallarta, MexicoA homemaker, wife and mother of one, Ms. Chavez was flying to San Francisco to visit her sister. A Newport Beach airline pilot has been arrested and charged with piloting an Alaska Airlines jet full of passengers while under the influence of alcohol, authorities said Thursday. Technical logs fell through the cracks; critical forms were left incomplete; paperwork was outright falsified to show work done when it was not. First Officer William (Bill) Tansky, 57, had 8,140 total flight hours, including about 8,060 hours as first officer in the MD-80. LOS ANGELES -- Federal authorities have arrested a former Alaska Airlines captain on federal charges of piloting a plane while intoxicated. Following the crash and the damning FAA special inspection report, Alaska Airlines overhauled its maintenance program, including through its compliance with a new FAA airworthiness directive mandating that the jackscrew lubrication interval not exceed 650 flight hours. Traveling with Colleen Whorley in Mexico, he e-mailed a friend poetic descriptions of their time together. Federal regulations limit alcohol levels to 0.04 for airplane crew members.Were the bodies of Flight 261 recovered? Hes ah, down.. Ah, here we go, said Captain Thompson, uttering the last words captured on the cockpit voice recorder. Many workers who greased jackscrews didnt apply additional grease to the screw itself after greasing the nut. She was part of the Flight 261 crew. If youve got any hidden circuit breakers wed love to know about em. Over the next couple minutes the pilots reported to maintenance that electrical current was present when they activated the trim motors, but that the motors nevertheless could not move the stabilizer. A technician for Alaska Airlines performed two breathalyzer tests that showed Arntson had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.134% and 0.142% well above the federal limit of 0.04% for pilots. 13 months later. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. January 22, 2016 Examined 9:54 Whats next for Ms. Halls only brother died four years ago of a motorcycle accident. Ryan Sparks, 20, EnumclawA graduate of Enumclaw High School, Mr. Sparks was traveling with his girlfriend, Meghann Hall, and her friend Rachel Janosik. How should I dress my baby in 69 degrees? Described by friends as a soft-spoken, caring person, Ms. Thompson is survived by two sisters. The two worked together several years at the Roy Potter Insurance Agency. In order to catch abnormal wear before it escalated to the point of failure, MD-80 operators regularly inspected their stabilizer jackscrew nuts to ensure that the wear remained within limits. Did maintenance errors cause the tragic crash? The co-pilot also recalled Arntson saying "I bet it's for me.". The single mother of a daughter, Hailey, and an avid fitness buff, she was an attendant with the crew of Flight 261.Looo. Sarah Pearson, 36, SeattleWith her husband, Rodney Pearson, and their children, Rachel and Grace, she was vacationing with friends and Queen Anne neighbors, the Clemetsons. He was an outgoing, friendly first-grader. The pilots consisted of Captain Edward (Ted) Thompson, 53, who had 17,750 flight hours, and had more than 4,000 hours experience flying MD-80s. However, this premise was based on the assumption that one of the threads might separate from the nut due to metal fatigue or improper workmanship, and did not consider the possibility of abnormal wear simultaneously compromising the strength of both threads. Analyzer of plane crashes. WebOn Flight 261, the nut portion of the jackscrew (located on the horizontal stabilizer) screwed itself off the jackscew. The flight departs from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and arrives in Haines, Skip to content Linda Knight, 51, MonroeLinda Knight, co-pastor and missionary with her husband, Joe Knight, overcame her fear of public speaking by practicing while standing on a stump in her yard. All rights reserved. At this point the checklist said Consider stab jammed, do not use autopilot, and offered a list of considerations to be made during landing. PLANE CRASH, Alaska Airlines Flight 261, Pacific Ocean Other Videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list more. The logo was changed to an image of a smiling Eskimo, which remains today. What caused Alaska Airlines 261 to crash? Alaska Airlines 261 is a chartered flight operated by Alaska Airlines. 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. The trim might be, and then it might be uh, if somethings popped back there. John Cuthbertso, 70, Danville, Calif.A smallish man with a Scottish brogue and gray beard who looked younger than his 70 years, he used to own a heating and air-conditioning company and drove a flashy car. In 1987, Alaska Airlines greased the stabilizer jackscrews on its MD-80s every 500 flight hours, the value recommended by the manufacturer. 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. It looks like hes turning hes turning over in front of you now, said the controller. For the next few minutes, they calculated landing weights and center of gravity and other values while controllers in Los Angeles prepared to accommodate them. But airline dispatchers in Seattle were less keen on this idea and preferred that flight 261 continue to San Francisco as scheduled. Then, additional grease was to be applied to the entire length of the screw, filling all the threads. 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. Luque had worked at Taste Catering in San Francisco since 1994. Bermudez was a firefighter who helped save the life of a person trapped inside a burning building in 1988. Erickson indicated that he and the pilot had been drinking alcoholic beverages, investigator Brice Banning wrote. The NTSB report did not identify a probable cause of the crash. The airline extended numerous maintenance intervals, while simultaneously skimping on personnel and training. I didnt want to call you guys, said the flight attendant, but that girl theyre like, you better go up there and tell them., I need you strapped in, dear, said Thompson, cause Im going to release the back pressure and see if I can get it back.. It stars Denzel Washington as William Whip Whitaker Sr., an alcoholic airline pilot who miraculously crash-lands his plane after a mechanical failure, saving nearly everyone on board. Captain Thompson argued that conditions would be more suitable for landing at Los Angeles, and the dispatcher admitted that the reason they preferred San Francisco was because a diversion would disrupt flow, worsening mounting delays in Alaskas flight schedule. How much does Alaskan airline pilot make? He had flown for four decades and worked for Alaska Airlines since 1985. They had just moved to the Bay Area from Los Angeles, where they had raised three sons. Thankfully, Mr. Arntson was never involved in an accident, but his conduct could have resulted in tragic consequences.. or redistributed. He will be sentenced this spring in US District Court in Santa Ana, California, according to the attorney. Pilots of nearby planes caught sight of flight 261 and radioed Los Angeles air traffic control. WebLoosely inspired by the plane crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261, the film stars Denzel Washington as William "Whip" Whitaker Sr., an alcoholic airline pilot who miraculously crash-lands his plane after a mechanical failure, saving nearly everyone on board. Flight 261 immediately plunged into a near-vertical dive, hurtling downward toward the Pacific Ocean. Let me just try it, Tansky said, offering to take over the strenuous task of holding the plane level. 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. He came to America from Fiji when he was 17 months old. Janice Stokes, 48, Ketchikan, AlaskaMs. Contact me via @Admiral_Cloudberg on Reddit, @KyraCloudy on Twitter, or by email at kyracloudy97@gmail.com. At that moment they effectively were dead. Glenn Hatleberg, 65, Eugene, Ore.The husband of Barbara Hatleberg, retired father of three grown children and grandfather of two small girls, Mr. Hatleberg was beloved at his Lutheran church in Eugene, where he served as an usher during services. 2023 Cable News Network. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Many of Alaskas maintenance workers received on the job training only without any formal curriculum. Salvage vessels had to be brought in to raise the rest of the plane from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. 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. This was not one of those cases. 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. Four minutes later, a warning light illuminated to inform the crew that the autopilot was unable to move the stabilizer. But the mechanism by which Alaska Airlines fell to such a dismal level of safety is not entirely gone. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much Im thinking, can it get any worse, but it probably can, he continued. The seemingly simple task of greasing the jackscrew was not immune to this degradation of the maintenance environment. The pilots decided that Los Angeles looked better. Did maintenance errors cause the tragic crash? On June 20, 2014, Arnston piloted two flights from San Diego, Calif., to Portland, Ore., with 160 passengers on board; and then returned to San Diego piloting a second Alaska Airlines flight carrying 80 passengers. 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. Who is the man on the tail of Alaska Airlines planes? Anjesh Prasad, 19, BurienA 1998 Highline High School graduate and dedicated sports fan, he worked as a ground service agent for Horizon Air. An Athabascan Indian, he grew up in Alaskas interior. No survivors Erickson indicated that he and the pilot had been drinking alcoholic beverages, investigator Brice Banning wrote. Toxicology results showed that Weimers blood-alcohol was 0.238. Alex Murdaugh sentenced to life in prison for murders of wife and son, Biden had cancerous skin lesion removed last month, doctor says, White supremacist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes kicked out of CPAC, Tom Sizemore, actor known for "Saving Private Ryan" and "Heat," dies at 61, Biden team readies new advisory panel ahead of expected reelection bid, At least 10 dead after winter storm slams South, Midwest, House Democrats unhappy with White House handling of D.C.'s new criminal code. It was not designed to handle that kind of pressure, and over those ten minutes, it started to fracture. Yeah, I heard it, said Thompson. Almost all of these recommendations were implemented. Miles Clemetson, 6, SeattleThe son of Carolyn Clemetson from a previous marriage, Miles attended John Hay Elementary School on Queen Anne Hill with his stepsisters. Naomi Laigo, 53, Fairfield, Calif.A devoted mother of three sons who was a nurse at a clinic in San Leandro, Calif., she grew roses in her spare time. Alaska Airlines had hung him out to dry, and to add insult to injury, his blowing the whistle failed to prevent the crash of flight 261. 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 grew up in Olympia. 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. But in the end, Alaska all but got away with it. Possibly. 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. The report noted that the crash could have been avoided if they had immediately returned to Puerto Vallarta when they encountered the jammed stabilizer. It got worse, okay. Violent vibrations shook the airplane. Arntson was released on a $25,000 bond and was ordered to appear for an arraignment on February 10. 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. No survivors from Flight 261 have been found. You got it?. Friends described her as a culture bearer who mastered all she attempted. The pilots didnt want to discover on final approach that the plane was uncontrollable at low speeds. 2. 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. A member of Ski Patrol, he was known to friends as Pat. Lorna Thorgrimson, 52, PoulsboTraveling with her husband, Robert Thorgrimson, Mrs. Thorgrimson was also accompanied by her close friends, Patty and Bob Williams. Abigail Busche, 25, SeattleRecently hired by Microsoft as a permanent employee, she was traveling with her husband, Ryan Busche. He lived with his mother in Oakland and spent much of his time caring for exotic birds, his koi pond and a garden. She was traveling with her father, Dr. David Clemetson, her stepmother, Carolyn Clemetson, and their blended family. Born in Hawaii, Mr. Ing grew up on Mercer Island, graduating from Mercer Island High School in 1990. How long does it take for a potato to cook at 350? N963AS, the plane that would later become Alaska Airlines flight 261, was one of many in the airlines fleet that was subject to these marginal maintenance practices. He was working in Microsofts games group as a temporary employee for ArtSource. Over time, this minute difference will cause the jackscrew to wear away the threads on the nut if metal-on-metal contact is allowed to occur. Thompson was traveling with her husband, Morris Thompson, and daughter, Sheryl Thompson. Robert Hovey, 50, San FranciscoHe was an athletic, outdoorsy, avid traveler who lived on a sailboat on San Francisco Bay. Retired from a career at the U.S. Treasury, he collected miniature trains and loved to take his wife on rail trips. Steve Wilkie, 38, San FranciscoThe brand manager of the Levi Strauss Silvertab clothing line, Mr. Wilkie had recently received the companys exalted Koshman Award in recognition for his work on marketing in Europe. 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. Tom Stockley, 63, SeattleRespected wine columnist for The Seattle Times, Mr. Stockley was traveling with Peggy Stockley, his wife of 40 years. Bryant was a travel agent who was excited when he received free tickets for a trip to Mexico. And so began a slash-and-burn cost-cutting campaign a campaign that culminated in a terrible black mark which will forever hang over the company, a tragedy so horrible and so preventable that it would call the safety of the entire industry into question. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS. Lives would have been saved if they had. Average Alaska Airlines Pilot yearly pay in the United States is approximately $186,628, which is 234% above the national average. The US aviation industry has nevertheless managed to go a long time without another major crash, but as for whether something like Alaska 261 could happen again well, never say never. He was traveling with his wife, Thelma, and daughter Sheryl. If done correctly, the process took about four hours. 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. Peggy Stockley, 62, SeattleAn animal lover and community activist, Mrs. Stockley was traveling with her husband, Tom Stockley. So theyre trying to put pressure on you, said Tansky. A year after the crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261, lawyers representing families of the victims contend the jet's pilots erred by failing to quickly land the MD-80 when problems first surfaced minutes into the flight. Were going to LAX, Thompson told the dispatcher. All Rights Reserved. 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. But there was nothing to be done. Okay, well, your discretion, said maintenance. 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.

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