Alaska Airlines 261 is a chartered flight operated by Alaska Airlines. Long story short: the result of an investigation into drinking before a flight is typically career-ending. Thankfully, Mr. Arntson was never involved in an accident, but his conduct could have resulted in tragic consequences.. The result was a chronic problem of Alaska Airlines MD-80s with poorly greased jackscrews. What a hard way to die: so an airline can make more money., ________________________________________________________________. Bradford Patrick Ryan, 33, RedmondThe trip to Mexico with his parents, Terry and Barbara Ryan, was meant in part to celebrate his graduation from Washington State University with a civil-engineering degree. Rodney Pearson, 45, SeattleMr. 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. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. By 2000, Alaska Airlines only inspected the wear on the jackscrew nut every 30 months, equivalent to 9,550 flight hours, whereas the manufacturer recommended an interval no larger than 7,200 flight hours. Key safety-related positions within the airlines management structure went unfilled. Thorgrimson, a founding partner of a prominent Seattle-based law firm. Im thinking, can it get any worse, but it probably can, he continued. 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. She is also survived by a son, Richard, in the Bay Area. 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. Push and roll! Thompson shouted, trying to coordinate with Tansky to roll the plane right-side-up. Friends described her as a culture bearer who mastered all she attempted. Capt. Do you poke holes in potatoes when boiling? A big, huge plunge, thank you, said the controller. Alaska Airlines 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. First Officer William Tansky, 57, Alameda, Calif.The co-pilot on Flight 261, he was two years from retirement. He was survived by his wife, Gabriel, two daughters and two sons. Indeed, all seemed normal as flight 261 climbed out from Puerto Vallarta, heading for its cruising altitude of 31,000 feet. No survivors from Flight 261 have been found. January 22, 2016 Examined 9:54 Whats next for And then, as the plane passed through 23,400 feet, a warning light flicked on in the cockpit: AUTOPILOT TRIM, it said. The actual protocol at Alaska Airlines was to inspect the jackscrew for wear at every second C-check, a comprehensive multi-day inspection that every airplane undergoes approximately once a year. By now the plane had leveled out at about 23,500 feet, after plunging 7,500 feet in 80 seconds. Badly shaken witnesses reported the crash to air traffic control within seconds. 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? At that moment they effectively were dead. Permanent License Revocation If the investigators conclude that the pilot was intoxicated prior to a flight, the FAA will typically revoke the pilots license permanently. She was also accompanied by her longtime companion, Charles Russell. Arnston had worked for Alaska Airlines since 1987, along with Jet America prior to its merger with Alaska Airlines, Huish said. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. Fun stories about food, relationships, the great outdoors and more. Pilot Error In Alaska 261 And hes just hit the water, said one pilot. Fox News Alexandra Deabler contributed to this report. At Alaska Airlines, our roots trace back to the Great Depression and the resourcefulness of Mac McGee. He worked at Travel Trends in San Francisco, and was traveling with a friend, James Luque. 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. The anger he must have felt is difficult to fathom. 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. pilots Robert Hovey, 50, San FranciscoHe was an athletic, outdoorsy, avid traveler who lived on a sailboat on San Francisco Bay. 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. Sheri Christensen, 25, Federal WayShe grew up in Yakima, one of four children of Bob and Pat Stookey, and moved to the Seattle area with her husband, Jeff Christensen. 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. Nevertheless, investigators praised the pilots for their heroic last-ditch efforts to save their aircraft, even attempting to fly upside down when they found they could not level the plane. First, pressurized grease was to be injected into a special tube on the nut until it filled all the thread gaps between the nut and the jackscrew and started to bulge out the top. Did you encounter any technical issues? 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. The seemingly simple task of greasing the jackscrew was not immune to this degradation of the maintenance environment. The following is a list of some of the victims of Alaska Airlines Flight 261. Flight (2012 film Stacy Schuyler, 20, Federal WayA ground-service agent for Horizon Air, Ms. Schuyler was a 1997 graduate of Puyallup High School. PLANE CRASH, Alaska Airlines Flight 261, Pacific 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. SkyWest 5154, the MD-80 is one becoming two oclock about ten miles now. Don Shaw, 63, SheltonAffable tour guide, Mr. Shaw was a fixture in the halls of the Legislature. Alaska Airlines pilot 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. Speedbrakes! Captain Thompson called out, still trying to find ways to arrest the dive. 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. Representatives for Alaska Airlines not immediately return Fox News request for comment. Not according to that its not, said Tansky. Thompson was an Air Force veteran who had flown for Alaska Airlines for more than 17 years. On board the stricken MD-83, the pilots managed to slow the dive somewhat, pulling up from 70 degrees nose down to 28 degrees, but the plane remained inverted, falling upside down toward the rapidly approaching ocean at a high rate of speed. 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. Luque had worked at Taste Catering in San Francisco since 1994. 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. Carolyn Clemetson, 31, SeattleMrs. According to the official maintenance manual, greasing the jackscrew involved three main steps. But the mechanism by which Alaska Airlines fell to such a dismal level of safety is not entirely gone. Barbara Ryan, 54, RedmondBorn in Alabama, Mrs. Ryan worked in marketing for SmithKline Beecham Cinical Laboratories. I dont think we should, if it can fly, its like . Web19K views 2 years ago. Alaska Airlines pilot arrested for allegedly flying planes drunk 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.. Both of them were creative, outgoing people. In hindsight, the crew should have turned around and immediately landed back in Puerto Vallarta. Shortly after the accident, Liotine discovered that the jackscrew nut he had inspected in 1997 was not in fact replaced and had actually gone on to cause the crash. N963AS nearly made it anyway its next jackscrew inspection was scheduled for March 2000. Avinesh Amit Deo, 23, BurienThe Highline High School alumnus had just graduated from ITT Technical Institute and was to have started his career at the time of the crash. Profiles of Alaska Flight 261 victims 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. Some did still less, failing even to ensure that grease totally filled the inside of the nut. 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. 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. Okay, we are inverted, and now we gotta get it. pilot drunk The report noted that the crash could have been avoided if they had immediately returned to Puerto Vallarta when they encountered the jammed stabilizer. He was vacationing with his daughter, Jacquelyn Choate. He was traveling with his cousins, Anjesh Prasad and Avinesh Amit Deo. 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. She studied art in Chicago and on the East Coast before coming West. 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. 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 261 He is a resident of Newport Beach, California. Who was the pilot of Alaska Airlines Flight 261? 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. Fuck me!. At 15:55, the dispatcher returned with wind speeds, wind directions, and runway conditions at San Francisco and Los Angeles. 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. When the jackscrew was hauled to the surface, investigators could not find any trace of grease on it, except for some old, dried out leftovers outside the normal working area of the screw. Jean Gandesbery, 66, Davis, Calif.An adjunct instructor of writing at the University of San Franciscos Sacramento campus, Ms. Gandesbery just had her childhood memoirs published by Minerva Press in a novel, Seven Mile Lake. She was married to Robert Gandesbery. Okay, well, your discretion, said maintenance. Upon deplaning in San Diego, he was randomly selected for drug and alcohol testing by the carrier. Jacquelyn Choate, 17, Santa Cruz, Calif.She was returning from a vacation with her father, Toni Choate. She edited the Floating Homes Association newsletter. With no grease at all, the rate of wear would increase by a factor of ten or more. 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. Alaska has not had a fatal crash since the overhaul, nor has there been another major loss of a US airliner due to any kind of mechanical failure. According to court documents, Arntson piloted two Alaska Airlines flights on June 20, 2014. He will be sentenced this spring in US District Court in Santa Ana, California, according to the attorney. 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. 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. 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. On the 31st of January 2000, an Alaska Airlines MD-83 bound for San Francisco suddenly plunged from the sky off the coast of California, spiraling downward until it slammed into the Pacific Ocean. The criminal investigation also proved to be a disappointment. She had gone with her family to Mexico to celebrate the birthday of her mother, Jean Permison. 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. Before that, he was a principal at two elementary schools in the Snohomish School District. She is survived by her mother, Dr. Claire Barnett of Seattle, a family-practice doctor. Gotta get it over again said Thompson. 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. It was clear that nobody had survived the crash. Whatever we did is no good, dont do that again, said Tansky. Well see you at the gate. This would be the last transmission between flight 261 and Alaska Airlines maintenance. In December of 1998 the federal government launched a criminal investigation into Alaska Airlines, seizing documents and interviewing witnesses. Okay, right rudder, right rudder, said Thompson. He is survived by his wife of five years, Susan da Silva. Then, additional grease was to be applied to the entire length of the screw, filling all the threads. 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. pilot PLANE CRASH, Alaska Airlines Flight 261, Pacific Ocean Other Videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list more. The metal from which the jackscrew is made is ever so slightly harder than the metal used in the nut. When the stabilizer moves upward, downforce on the tail decreases, and the nose pitches down; similarly, when the stabilizer moves downward, downforce increases, and the nose pitches up. He was an outgoing, friendly first-grader. Did maintenance errors cause the tragic crash? Alaska Airlines Possibly. Hes in sight, hes, uh, definitely out of control, said the SkyWest pilot. 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 flight departs from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and arrives in Haines, Skip to content 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. Were going to LAX, Thompson told the dispatcher. 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. But this very success may have planted the seeds of the disaster which followed. The investigation uncovered a daunting list of operational problems and regulatory mistakes that led to the crash. Were pretty busy up here working this situation. 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. 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. 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. Almost all of these recommendations were implemented. 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. Colleen Whorley, 34, SeattleAn art director at Microsoft, Ms. Whorley honed her skills in photography. 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. Yeah, I heard it, said Thompson. The 63-year-old aviator, from Newport Beach, Calif.,previously pleaded guilty to the crime in February of this year. Alaska Flight 261 Pilots Awarded ALPA Gold Medal Average Alaska Airlines Pilot yearly pay in the United States is approximately $186,628, which is 234% above the national average. Mrs. Busche grew up near Bow, Skagit County, near Mount Vernon. Yeah, no, said Thompson. Web19K views 2 years ago. 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. 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. 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. In his time in prison, Whip is clean and has gained the trust of his ex-wife and son again. Passengers and Crew Members on Alaska Airlines Flight 261 January 22, 2016 Examined 9:54 Whats next for 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. 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. Did maintenance errors cause the tragic crash? Alaska Airlines 261 is a chartered flight operated by Alaska Airlines. Rescue vessels raced to the crash site three kilometers east of Anacapa Island in the Santa Barbara Channel, hoping to find survivors. Furthermore, the pilots were reluctant to believe that the failure was mechanical, rather than electrical, in nature. David Hans Arntson, 62, of Newport Beach, California, agreed to enter a guilty plea in US District Court this week. 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. And at the same time, the increased inspection interval meant that it was now possible for a jackscrew nut to pass an inspection, later receive inadequate lubrication, and then wear down to the point of failure, all before the next inspection came around. 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.. 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. (David Arnston Google+). Pilot Craig Pulanco was working as a flight attendant aboard Flight 261. Stokes had three college-age children, as well as a brother in Seattle and a sister in Alaska. She and Monte Donaldson had just bought a home and planned to be married, then honeymoon in Ireland and Bali. She used to drive a riding lawn mower around their yard, and relax in the family swimming pool. By nightfall, working with the help of flood lights from squid fishing boats, recovery workers managed to find just seven bodies. Very dangerous': Alaska Airlines pilot headed 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. I dont anticipate any big problems once we get a couple of sub systems on the line. Federal regulations limit alcohol levels to 0.04 for airplane crew members.Were the bodies of Flight 261 recovered? The Safety Board also examined the design of the jackscrew itself, and found that it probably didnt meet certification standards. (Alaska specifically did this every 30 months, or 9,550 flight hours.) Tragically, they didnt. 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. At 16:07, flight 261 contacted Alaska Airlines Los Angeles maintenance facility on the radio. He grew up in Olympia. Ryan Sparks, 20, EnumclawA graduate of Enumclaw High School, Mr. Sparks was traveling with his girlfriend, Meghann Hall, and her friend Rachel Janosik. I dont know, my adrenalines going, said Thompson. I clicked it off, Thompson said. Larry Baldridge Jr., 34, Novato, Calif.A businessman with a knack for the Internet, he was working to set up venture-capital business with Michael Schwab, the son of legendary brokerage leader Charles Schwab. However, during the 1990s the quality of maintenance at Alaska Airlines began to slip significantly. 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. Three seconds later, the fairing failed, and the stabilizer swung unimpeded on its hinge to a position of at least 14 degrees aircraft nose down. Airlines Flight 261 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. The whole episode must have left him a bitter man although unlike most whistleblowers, he did manage to restart his career in the industry. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. 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. He lived in Brier with his partner, Charlene Sipe. Quality control fell by the wayside as workers performed tasks they didnt understand, while under pressure to get planes back in service as quickly as possible. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. Technical logs fell through the cracks; critical forms were left incomplete; paperwork was outright falsified to show work done when it was not. After the June 2014 incident, Arntson retired from Alaska Airlines, and the Federal Aviation Administration revoked his pilots license, the US Attorneys Office said. I think its at the stop, full stop, said Thompson. Lorna Thorgrimson, 52, PoulsboTraveling with her husband, Robert Thorgrimson, Mrs. Thorgrimson was also accompanied by her close friends, Patty and Bob Williams. But airline dispatchers in Seattle were less keen on this idea and preferred that flight 261 continue to San Francisco as scheduled. 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. The only layer of protection against a catastrophe was therefore the assumption that poorly trained, low-paid maintenance workers would apply enough grease. Nine years after the cost-cutting began, Alaska Airlines was posting profits again, its fleet was expanding, and passenger numbers were higher than ever. Friends said she was shy but very gentle and loving. 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. The pilots decided that Los Angeles looked better. Allison Shanks, 33, SeattleThe opportunity to travel lured Ms. Shanks to her job as a flight attendant for Alaska Airlines 12 years ago. Pilot School counselors said she and her friend, Rachel Janosik, were funny, enjoyable, mature young women. They heard a helicopter, but they were unable to fire the flare gun successfully and the helicopter left. Pilot Error In Alaska 261 Join the discussion of this article on Reddit! Blake Clemetson, 7, SeattleBlake was Corianders younger sister, the daughter of Dr. David Clemetson and his first wife, Dr. Claire Barnett. If they lost control again, he didnt want to endanger people on the ground. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. 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. David Hans Arntson's deal includes a year in federal prison, He'll also get three years of supervised release. Bob Williams, 65, Poulsbo, Kitsap CountyHe was a builder who served on the Poulsbo city Planning Commission. The first flight was from San Diego International Airport to Portland, Oregon. I think if its controllable, we ought to just try and land it, said Tansky. 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. The FAAs special inspection report noted that the position of Director of Maintenance had gone unfilled since 1998; the Director of Operations position was empty; the Director of Safety was also the Director of Quality Control and the Director of Training and didnt report to high-level management; there was no maintenance training curriculum; on-the-job training was completely unstructured; the procedures in use didnt match those outlined in the maintenance manual; planes had been released from C-checks with paperwork incomplete; perishable and consumable materials had expired; shift turnover paperwork was missing, unsigned, or incomplete; work cards were not filled out properly; and more the list went on and on.