Indeed, all seemed normal as flight 261 climbed out from Puerto Vallarta, heading for its cruising altitude of 31,000 feet. The only layer of protection against a catastrophe was therefore the assumption that poorly trained, low-paid maintenance workers would apply enough grease. 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. Alaska Airlines flight 261 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. Alaska Airlines Alaska Flight 261 As any good crew should do, Thompson and Tansky then pulled out the checklists for a runaway or inoperative stabilizer. 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. The eight-year-old McDonnell Douglas MD-83, registered as N963AS, outwardly seemed to be in good shape. In hindsight, the crew should have turned around and immediately landed back in Puerto Vallarta. Alaska Flight 261 Most importantly, the National Transportation Safety Board excoriated Alaska Airlines decision to increase the intervals between jackscrew lubrications and wear inspections, and the FAAs approval of these intervals, which it considered to be a direct cause of the accident. Contact me via @Admiral_Cloudberg on Reddit, @KyraCloudy on Twitter, or by email at kyracloudy97@gmail.com. You have the airplane. The pilots were able to stabilize the plane, inverted, for less than a minute (with a 9pitch towards the ocean). Numerous people saw the plane flying parallel to a mountain ridge before it turned and descended. A former Alaska Airlines pilot will spend a year behind bars for flying intoxicated at three times over the legal limit in June 2014. At that moment they effectively were dead. Even though the pilots fought for control for a short period, an MD-80 will not Toxicology results showed that Weimers blood-alcohol was 0.238. 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. Many workers who greased jackscrews didnt apply additional grease to the screw itself after greasing the nut. He is survived by his wife of five years, Susan da Silva. Ronald Lake, 59, Corte Madera, Calif.He was the husband of Joyce Lake, father of three adult sons and an avid traveler. Gabriela Chavez, 33, Puerto Vallarta, MexicoA homemaker, wife and mother of one, Ms. Chavez was flying to San Francisco to visit her sister. 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. Possibly. 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. James Ryan, 30, PortlandA flight attendant for Alaska, James Ryan turned 30 the day the family left for Mexico. Thompson was an Air Force veteran who had flown for Alaska Airlines for more than 17 years. The 2 pilots, 3 cabin crew members, and 83 passengers on board were killed, and the airplane The tangled remnants of the threads from the nut remained wrapped around the jackscrew, wordlessly telling the story of how the stabilizer failed. Russel Ing, 28, SeattleA visual-arts graduate who worked in graphic design for Kinkos in Woodinville, Mr. Ing won awards for his photography. 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? The pilot of Flight 261, Capt. David Hans Arntson, 62, of Newport Beach, California, agreed to enter a guilty plea in US District Court this week. Ms. Halls only brother died four years ago of a motorcycle accident. Indeed, by the end of the 1990s, what had once been a small regional carrier had successfully transformed itself into one of Americas largest airlines. 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. 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.. After the June 2014 incident, Arntson retired from Alaska Airlines, and the Federal Aviation Administration revoked his pilots license, the US Attorneys Office said. Alaska Airlines If they lost control again, he didnt want to endanger people on the ground. 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. Before the flight, he told a friend that Weimer, an airline transport pilot, would be at the controls for the short sightseeing trip, according to the NTSB report. The Safety Board also examined the design of the jackscrew itself, and found that it probably didnt meet certification standards. 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. Pilots Thompson and Tansky disconnected the autopilot to see what they were up against, and found that the stabilizer had jammed slightly nose down, requiring constant force on the elevators to overcome it and continue climbing. However, the pilots were clearly under pressure to continue on to San Francisco, and maintenance technicians and dispatchers on the ground did not appreciate the direness of the situation. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. 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. He came to America from Fiji when he was 17 months old. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Prosecutors said that Arnston was an alcoholic during at least a substantial portion" of his career, and concealed the fact from both the carrier and FAA. Stacy Schuyler, 20, Federal WayA ground-service agent for Horizon Air, Ms. Schuyler was a 1997 graduate of Puyallup High School. The effect was immediate and catastrophic, as his inputs ripped out whatever threads remained on the jackscrew nut. Pilot 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. LOS ANGELES -- Federal authorities have arrested a former Alaska Airlines captain on federal charges of piloting a plane while intoxicated. A Warner Bros. Did maintenance errors cause the tragic crash? You did try the suitcase handles and the pickle switches, right? the maintenance technician asked. 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. Former owner of a travel business, she was a very giving person, friends said, and was working toward a masters degree in art therapy. He was a vice president of business development for Creditland, Inc. The 63-year-old aviator, from Newport Beach, Calif.,previously pleaded guilty to the crime in February of this year. Visit r/admiralcloudberg to read and discuss over 190 similar articles. 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. 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.. Cynthia Oti, 43, Oakland, Calif.She was an investment broker who hosted a nightly radio show on investing on KSFO in San Francisco. Ah, here we go, said Captain Thompson, uttering the last words captured on the cockpit voice recorder. Pilot Error In Alaska 261 After touching down at John Wayne Airport and spotting the drug tester, Arnston allegedly said, I bet its for me, according to his co-pilot on the two flights said, CBS reports. Okay, we had a big bang back there, said the flight attendant. How should I dress my baby in a 70 degree room at night? The result was a chronic problem of Alaska Airlines MD-80s with poorly greased jackscrews. 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. As they struggled to regain control, Thompson radioed Los Angeles and said, Center, Alaska two six one, we are in a dive here, and Ive lost control, vertical pitch! An overspeed warning blared in the cockpit. Possibly. Alaska Airlines 261 is a chartered flight operated by Alaska Airlines. 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. She was traveling with her husband, Terry, their two sons, and their sons friends. 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. Arntson's co-pilot on the two flights remembered seeing the drug tester when the plane landed at John Wayne Airport, according to the complaint. 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. Among major US airlines, Alaska has charted perhaps the most unusual course across its long and fascinating history. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Thankfully, Mr. Arntson was never involved in an accident, but his conduct could have resulted in tragic consequences.. 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.. In theory this was adequate, but only if the grease was applied correctly every time. This article is written without reference to and supersedes the original. 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. A cacophony of banging and roaring filled the cockpit. If done correctly, the process took about four hours. Fuck me!. He was vacationing with his daughter, Jacquelyn Choate. In December of 1998 the federal government launched a criminal investigation into Alaska Airlines, seizing documents and interviewing witnesses. Join the discussion of this article on Reddit! Speedbrakes! Captain Thompson called out, still trying to find ways to arrest the dive. 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. PLANE CRASH, Alaska Airlines Flight 261, Pacific They had no way of knowing at this stage that the problem was mechanical in nature. Alaska Airlines Flight 261 Clemetson was traveling with her husband, Dr. David Clemetson and their family. But they would tend to be more short-lived or there are easy ways for pilots to counteract such failures, he said. Alaska Airlines 261 Robert Ost, 39, San Bruno, Calif.A veteran San Francisco firefighter and avid mountain climber, he considered risk part of his job and his life. The airline ended up being fined a mere $44,000 for allowing planes to fly 840 times without properly completed maintenance records. Federal regulations limit alcohol levels to 0.04 for airplane crew members. But airline dispatchers in Seattle were less keen on this idea and preferred that flight 261 continue to San Francisco as scheduled. No survivors from Flight 261 have been found. Long story short: the result of an investigation into drinking before a flight is typically career-ending. 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.. CNN has reached out to Alaska Airlines for comment. Alaska Airlines Flight 261 He had treated his cousins, Avinesh Prasad and Avinesh Amit Deo, to a trip to Mexico. At Alaska Airlines, our roots trace back to the Great Depression and the resourcefulness of Mac McGee. The pilots pulled back as hard as they could on their control columns and deployed the flaps to try and slow down, but their efforts were utterly hopeless. He was traveling with several college friends. Were flying were flying tell em what were doing.. Flight 261 immediately plunged into a near-vertical dive, hurtling downward toward the Pacific Ocean. But neither of the applicable checklists said anything about landing at the nearest available airport, and by the time they finished the checklists and leveled off at 31,000 feet, minimal effort was required to keep the plane flying level. 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. His attorney, Dyke Huish, said Arnston had a perfect safety record over his nearly 30-year career, and never tested positive for alcohol before that incident. The longer it went without being greased properly, the faster the jackscrew wore down the threads on the nut. Arntson was released on a $25,000 bond and was ordered to appear for an arraignment on February 10. Push and roll! Thompson shouted, trying to coordinate with Tansky to roll the plane right-side-up. pilots 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. 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. The whole episode must have left him a bitter man although unlike most whistleblowers, he did manage to restart his career in the industry. ALASKA AIRLINES flight Alaska two sixty one, say again sir, said the controller. Rachel Janosik, 20, BellevueA graduate of Enumclaw High School, she was traveling with former schoolmates Ryan Sparks and Meghann Hall. Keep in mind that the pitch of the stabilizer itself is actually inverse to the pitch of the airplane.). He was working in Microsofts games group as a temporary employee for ArtSource. Okay, we are inverted, and now we gotta get it. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much 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. Alaska Airlines pilot arrested for allegedly flying planes drunk Morris Thompson, 62, Fairbanks, AlaskaAn advocate for Alaska natives, he was celebrating his retirement after 12 years as president of Doyon, Ltd., a multimillion dollar Alaska Native regional corporation. Born in Hawaii, Mr. Ing grew up on Mercer Island, graduating from Mercer Island High School in 1990. Erickson was a student pilot. 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. According to the criminal complaint filed Tuesday, Arntson was the pilot of two Alaska Airlines flights on in June 2014, in which he was under the influence. 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. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also revoked his pilots license. In his time in prison, Whip is clean and has gained the trust of his ex-wife and son again. The jackscrew is one of the few components of the MD-80 series that does not have a redundant backup in case of failure. Her husband, Lee, 41, and children, 5-year-old Barbara and 11-year-old Daniel, stayed behind in Mexico. You want to try it or not?, Keying the public address system, Captain Thompson announced, Folks, we have had a flight control problem up front here; were working it Uh, thats Los Angeles off to the right there, thats where were intending to go. She edited the Floating Homes Association newsletter. Many of Alaskas maintenance workers received on the job training only without any formal curriculum. 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. She was traveling with her father, Dr. David Clemetson, her stepmother, Carolyn Clemetson, and their blended family. And more than 21 years after the crash of flight 261, it is far from clear that the FAA is any less understaffed than it was when it let safety at Alaska Airlines fall to pieces at the cost of 88 lives. Pilot Error In Alaska 261 Anything more than that and the nut would need to be replaced. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Russell was traveling with his companion, Jean Permison, and her family. He was traveling with his cousins, Anjesh Prasad and Avinesh Amit Deo. As investigators recovered more and more of the plane from the ocean floor, a troubling picture of the sequence of events began to emerge. In September of 1997, maintenance workers in Oakland performed the aforementioned test on N963AS and found a wear depth of exactly one millimeter. Tragically, they didnt. Luque had worked at Taste Catering in San Francisco since 1994. pilot View on timesmachine. Thompson was an Air Force veteran who had flown for Alaska Airlines for more than 17 years. Salt of the earth, said one who knew him. Very dangerous': Alaska Airlines pilot headed The state medical examiner found the cause of Weimers death was injuries from the crash but also that alcohol intoxication may be viewed as a factor contributing to death., Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Allison Shanks, 33, SeattleThe opportunity to travel lured Ms. Shanks to her job as a flight attendant for Alaska Airlines 12 years ago. pilots Pilots of nearby planes caught sight of flight 261 and radioed Los Angeles air traffic control. Were slowing here, and were gonna do a little troubleshooting, can you give me a block altitude between twenty and twenty five?. Passengers and Crew Members on Alaska Airlines Flight 261 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. The basis for the approval of the design under this rule was the fact that the nut has two independent threads that did not link with one another, such that if one thread failed, the other could still hold the jackscrew in place. Ted Thompson, 53, Redlands, Calif.The pilot of Flight 261, Capt. Toni Choate, 48, San FranciscoHe had been a general contractor and cabinet finisher in Visalia, Calif., then bought a bar in Santa Clara, Calif. It added dozens of new routes, expanded to a large number of new cities, and even added services to Mexico in order to offset the seasonal nature of its flights to Alaska. 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. 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. (David Arnston Google+). Alaska Airlines Pilot Accused of Flying Drunk At 16:09, he said, Im gonna click it off. He will be sentenced this spring in US District Court in Santa Ana, California, according to the attorney. Mr. Deo immigrated from Fiji with his family when he was young. What caused Alaska Airlines 261 to crash? The pilots decided that Los Angeles looked better. Williams, traveling with her husband, Bob Williams, would have celebrated her 64th birthday on Feb. 8, 2000. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! Thats affirm, said Thompson. 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. And many airlines have responded to this by simply missing row 13 in their seat numbering. They had just moved to the Bay Area from Los Angeles, where they had raised three sons. Yes sir, he he hit the water, said the SkyWest pilot, his voice nearly cracking. The NTSB report did not identify a probable cause of the crash. I dont know, my adrenalines going, said Thompson. Did maintenance errors cause the tragic crash? Federal regulations limit alcohol levels to 0.04 for airplane crew members.Were the bodies of Flight 261 recovered? Erickson indicated that he and the pilot had been drinking alcoholic beverages, investigator Brice Banning wrote. He worked for a San Francisco wholesale ice-cream manufacturer. Stokes had three college-age children, as well as a brother in Seattle and a sister in Alaska. In 1998, fed up with a maintenance environment that did not seem to prioritize safety, John Liotine blew the whistle and alerted the FAA to some of Alaskas numerous violations. 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. At this point the checklist said Consider stab jammed, do not use autopilot, and offered a list of considerations to be made during landing. 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. Don Shaw, 63, SheltonAffable tour guide, Mr. Shaw was a fixture in the halls of the Legislature. Coriander Clemetson, 8, SeattleShe was a quiet, poised student at John Hay Elementary School on Queen Anne Hill. It was on board Alaska Airlines flight 261 from Puerto Vallarta to San Francisco on the 31st of January 2000 that this sequence of events that had been years in the making finally came to its terrifying conclusion. Web19K views 2 years ago. 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. or redistributed. Abigail Busche, 25, SeattleRecently hired by Microsoft as a permanent employee, she was traveling with her husband, Ryan Busche. Following the procedures prescribed in the checklists, they tried cycling the motors on and off, checking the trim motor circuit breakers, and using the manual trim controls. It went down, it went to full nose down.. 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. Rescue vessels raced to the crash site three kilometers east of Anacapa Island in the Santa Barbara Channel, hoping to find survivors. Alaska Flight 261 Pilots Awarded ALPA Gold Medal Yeah, I heard it, said Thompson. 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. Alaska Airlines flight 261 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. 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. WebOn Flight 261, the nut portion of the jackscrew (located on the horizontal stabilizer) screwed itself off the jackscew. 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. 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. January 21, 2016 / 9:24 PM Described by friends as a soft-spoken, caring person, Ms. Thompson is survived by two sisters. According to the plea agreement, both breathalyzer tests performed on Arnston were well above the federal limit of 0.04 percent for pilots, indicating blood alcohol concentrations of 0.134 and 0.142 percent, over three times the legal limit. According to court documents, Arntson piloted two Alaska Airlines flights on June 20, 2014. Carol Karlsson, 42, Petaluma, Calif.Wife of Karl Karlsson, she was fun-loving and cheerful. The metal from which the jackscrew is made is ever so slightly harder than the metal used in the nut. Fun stories about food, relationships, the great outdoors and more. Who is the man on the tail of Alaska Airlines planes? Robert Thorgrimson, 63, PoulsboA special-education teacher for North Kitsap School District, Mr. Thorgrimson was known as a sincere man who helped save the local chapter of DeMolay, the Masons club for boys.
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