Alaska Flight 261 bound for Seattle crashes into the Pacific Ocean on (2024)

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Alaska Flight 261 bound for Seattle crashes into the Pacific Ocean on January 31, 2000.

  • By Chris Goodman and Priscilla Long
  • Posted 1/28/2001
  • HistoryLink.org Essay 2958
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On January 31, 2000, Alaska Airlines Flight 261, bound for Seattle, plunges into the Pacific Ocean 40 miles northwest of Los Angeles, off the coast of California, killing all 88 passengers and crew. The flight originated in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and was bound for Seattle with an intermediate stop in San Francisco. Forty-seven of the passengers were headed to Seattle and three of the crew member were based in Seattle. Most of the other victims were bound for San Francisco. Captain Ted Thompson and First Officer William Tansky struggle to control the plane for at least a half an hour, while at times communicating via radio with Alaska Airlines maintenance center in Seattle, in an attempt to troubleshoot control problems with the McDonnell Douglas MD-83.

Investigation of the crash quickly focused issues surrounding the two-foot-long jackscrew -- part of a system that drives adjustments to the horizontal stabilizer, which in turn controls the pitch, or up-and-down orientation, of the aircraft. While in flight, the MD-83 experienced a sudden, sharp dive. It was suspected that there was a problem with the horizontal stabilizer "trim." After temporarily leveling out, pilots again lost control as they prepared the plane for an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport. After this change in "configuration," the plane entered an uncontrolled nosedive from 17,000 feet.

In December 2002, the National Transportation Safety Board attributed the crash to lack of grease on the jackscrew. Insufficient lubrication of the jackscrew led to the stripping of the screw threads, causing the plane’s horizontal stabilizer to jam in a position that forced the plane into a drastic nose-down orientation. The board blamed both the airline for its maintenance practices and the Federal Aviation Administration for its failure to adequately oversee the carrier. The board also concluded that a contributing factor was the lack of a fail-safe mechanism to protect the MD-80 from a catastrophic loss of the jackscrew.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for Northern California investigated claims of fraudulent record-keeping and cover-up at an Alaskan Airlines maintenance center in Oakland, where Flight 261 was last serviced before the crash, but announced in August 2003 that it would not file any criminal charges.

Meanwhile, the airline and The Boeing Company (which acquired the McDonnell Corporation Corp. in 1997) settled 87 of 88 wrongful death lawsuits stemming from the crash. Financial details were sealed from public view, but lawyers said the settlements were among the largest ever in an air disaster, in part because of the safety board’s strongly worded report assigning blame, and partly because of the nature of the crash itself. Relatives of the victims were granted the right to receive so-called pre-impact compensation, covering the emotional as well as the physical injuries the passengers encountered as the plane nose-dived into the ocean. Negotiators pointed out that the passengers experienced two separate freefalls, the first lasting 80 seconds and the final one lasting 90 seconds.

As of August 2004, only one of the suits, brought on behalf of passenger Joan Smith, 53, of Burlingame, California, remained pending.

Flight recorder data showed that Flight 261 crashed into the Pacific Ocean at 4:22 p.m., at a speed of more than 200 miles per hour.

Four years after the crash, a memorial (a sculpture of dolphins leaping around a sundial, financed by contributions from Alaska Airlines and from families and friends of the victims) was placed on the beach at Port Hueneme, California, opposite the spot where the plane went down 20 miles offshore.

Beginning in 2001, surviving family members of the Pearson, Barnett, and Clemetson families, as well as Queen Anne neighbors, began raising funds to renovate a nearby park, Soundview Terrace, to be an active memorial and to recognize the park's importance to their six children during their lifetimes. The park, located at 11th Avenue W and W Wheeler Street, opened on April 27, 2003, as Soundview Terrace/Rachel's Playground. The Pearson children's grandfather, Ralph Pearson, coined the name in honor of Rachel Pearson's near-daily visits to the tiny park during her brief lifetime.

Among the Washington residents killed on Flight 261 were:

  • Stanford Poll, 59, Mercer Island, Washington, former owner of J&M Cafe and Blue Moon tavern in Seattle;
  • Dr. David Clemetson, 40 (a Burien physician);
  • Carolyn Clemetson, 31;
  • Miles Clemetson, 6;
  • Spencer Clemetson (infant son of Carolyn Clemetson);
  • Coriander Barnett-Clemetson, 8;
  • Blake Barnett-Clemetson, 6 (Cori and Blake were the daughters of Dr. Claire Barnett);
  • Tom Stockley (wine columnist for The Seattle Times);
  • Margaret Stockley;
  • Rodney Pearson, 45 (vice president of operations for Six Degrees restaurants);
  • Sarah Pearson (Alaska Airlines flight attendant);
  • Rachel Pearson, 6;
  • Grace Pearson (infant daughter of Sarah Pearson);
  • Abigail Busche, 26;
  • Ryan Busche, 28;
  • Allison Shanks, 33 (Alaska Airlines flight attendant);
  • Janice Stokes
  • Craig Pulanco, (flight attendant who had changed his name from Craig Gruhl);
  • Paul Pulanco, (a director of the Northwest AIDS Foundation);
  • Meghann Hall, 19, Enumclaw;
  • Ryan Sparks, 20, Enumclaw;
  • Rachel Janosik (Horizon Air employee), 20, Enumclaw;
  • Avinesh Amit Deo, 23;
  • Avinash "A.V." Prasad, 19;
  • Anjesh Prasad, 19 (Avinesh, Avinash, and Anjesh were cousins, all born in Fiji, who had gone to Mexico to celebrate Avinesh's graduation from ITT Technical Institute);
  • Monte Lane Donaldson (a freelance DJ, engaged to marry Colleen Rose Whorley);
  • Colleen Rose Whorley, (art director at Microsoft, engaged to marry Monte Donaldson);
  • Don Shaw, 63 (retired elementary school principal in the Snohomish School District);
  • Robert Thorgrimson, 63 (grandson of a founding partner in the Preston, Gates & Ellis law firm based in Seattle), Poulsbo, Washington;
  • Lorna Thorgrimson, 53, (sold furniture at the Silverdale Bon Marche), Poulsbo, Washington;
  • Deborah Penna (Cornish College art student);
  • Michael Bernard;
  • James Ryan (Alaska Airlines flight attendant), Redmond, Washington;
  • Terry Ryan, Redmond Washington
  • Barbara Ryan, Redmond, Washington;
  • Bradford Ryan, Redmond, Washington;
  • Russell Ing;
  • Linda Knight, 51;
  • Joe Knight, 54 (the Knights were co-pastors at The Rock Church in Monroe, Washington);
  • Charlene Sipe;
  • Harry Stasinos (insurance agent who lived with Charlene Sipe);
  • Sherry Christiansen (Horizon Air Employee) Federal Way, Washington;
  • Stacey Schuyler (Horizon Air Employee), Milton, Washington;
  • Kristin Mills (Flight Attendant);
  • Donald Shaw, Shelton, Washington;
  • Larence Baldridge.
Sources:

"Board Meeting: Loss of Control and Impact with Pacific Ocean, Alaska Airlines Flight 261, McDonnell Douglas MD-83, N963AS, about 2.7 miles north of Anacapa Island, California, January 31, 2000," National Transportation Safety Board website accessed January 2, 2015 (http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2002/AAR0201.htm); "88 Die in Seattle-bound Jet; Speculation Focuses on Tail," The Seattle Times, February 1, 2000, p. A-1; "Alaska Airlines Flight Crashes," Seattle Post-Intelligencer, January 31, 2000 (http://seattlep-i.com); "The Faces of Flight 261's Victims," Ibid., February 1, 2000; "Passenger List Released," Ibid., February 1, 2000; "Grief, Worry at Sea-Tac as Loved Ones Wait," Ibid., February 1, 2000; Paul Nyhan, "No Criminal Charges Filed in Alaska Airlines Crash," Ibid., August 12, 2003; David Dravets, "All But One Suit Settled in Flight 261 Crash," Ibid., July 4, 2003; "Board of Park Commissioners Meeting Minutes, May 8, 2003," Seattle Parks and Recreation website accessed January 2, 2015 (http://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/ParksAndRecreation/Minutes/2003/05-08-03.pdf).
Note: This essay was updated by Cassandra Tate on August 10, 2004, updated again on June 6, 2006, and corrected on January 31, 2011, and source listings were updated on January 2, 2015.

Related Topics

Aviation

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Alaska Flight 261 bound for Seattle crashes into the Pacific Ocean on (2024)

FAQs

Alaska Flight 261 bound for Seattle crashes into the Pacific Ocean on? ›

It crashed, killing all on board. It was caused by an issue with the aircraft's stabilizer due to inadequate lubrication of the stabilizer jackscrew thanks to maintenance shortcut. The failure of the stabilizer caused the plane to pitch down, diving catastrophically to its doom.

What caused Alaska Flight 261 to crash? ›

Alaska Airlines Flight 261, N963AS

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that the probable cause of this accident was a loss of airplane pitch control resulting from the in-flight failure of the horizontal stabilizer trim system jackscrew assembly's Acme nut threads.

What were the last words of the pilots on Alaska Airlines 261? ›

The final words of the brave pilots caught on tape were. ah, here we go, that's two sixty one second. We are in a vertical dive.

Did they find the bodies of Flight 261? ›

Due to the extreme impact forces, only a few bodies were found intact, and none were visually identifiable. All passengers were identified using fingerprints, dental records, tattoos, personal items, and anthropological examination.

Was the pilot of Flight 261 intoxicated? ›

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.

Could Alaska Flight 261 be saved? ›

Possibly. Once the failures were fully manifested, recovery was impossible. In summary, had the pilots known what the problem really was, they might have been able to land safely, if they had attempted it as soon as they recognized the problem with control.

How fast was flight 261 when hit the water? ›

Flight recorder data showed that Flight 261 crashed into the Pacific Ocean at 4:22 p.m., at a speed of more than 200 miles per hour.

Were there any survivors Alaska Flight 261? ›

What happened to the Alaska Airlines Flight 261? It crashed, killing all on board. It was caused by an issue with the aircraft's stabilizer due to inadequate lubrication of the stabilizer jackscrew thanks to maintenance shortcut.

Who is the mechanic on Alaska Airlines Flight 261? ›

“In 1998, an Alaska Airlines mechanic named John Liotine, who worked in the Alaska Airlines maintenance center in Oakland, California, told the Federal Aviation Administration that supervisors were approving records of maintenance that they were not allowed to approve or that indicated work had been completed when, in ...

How many passengers were on Alaska Airlines Flight 261? ›

Entire list of crew and passengers aboard Alaska Airlines Flight 261, which crashed off the Southern California coast on January 31, 2000. Of the 83 passengers on Flight 261, 32 were bound for San Francisco, 47 for Seattle, three for Eugene and one for Fairbanks.

Did the Alaska 261 fly inverted? ›

While inverted, the engines experience multiple compressor stalls and likely failed, causing the aircraft's rapid final descent. Just before 16:22 PST, Alaska Airlines Flight 261 crashed inverted into the Pacific Ocean. None of 88 passengers and crew members aboard survived.

Is it safe to fly? ›

The quick answer is that flying is safe — safer than most forms of travel — and far, far safer than car rides most people take every day without thinking twice.

What happened to the Alaska Airlines flight in 2024? ›

The aviation industry is still in shock from a near disaster on Jan. 5, 2024, in which a 60-pound “door plug” blew out from a nearly new Boeing 737 MAX 9 in flight at 16,000 feet, leaving a gaping hole in the fuselage.

Who was the pilot who intentionally crashed? ›

Bob Richards was having marital and other personal problems. He deliberately crashed his Piper Cherokee single-engine airplane onto the ground. He was alone in the plane, and the only fatality.

Who was the pilot fired for refusing unsafe flight? ›

Legal Protections Pilots Have Against Retaliatory Action

If a pilot is fired for making reports to the FAA, they may have grounds to sue their employer for wrongful termination. Wrongful termination occurs when an employee is fired for an unlawful reason, such as reporting violations of federal aviation regulations.

What caused the Alaska plane crash? ›

Abstract. On January 31, 2000, Alaska Airlines flight 261, an MD-83, crashed into the Pacific Ocean; after airplane pitch control was lost as a result of the in-flight failure of the horizontal stabilizer trim system jackscrew assembly's acme nut threads (NTSB, 2003).

What was the maintenance on the Alaska Airlines 261? ›

What happened to the Alaska Airlines Flight 261? It crashed, killing all on board. It was caused by an issue with the aircraft's stabilizer due to inadequate lubrication of the stabilizer jackscrew thanks to maintenance shortcut.

What was the final cause of the plane crash Hansen family? ›

The report said the pilot made several key errors that contributed to the crash including failing to remove all the snow and ice from the plane even though a witness told investigators that the pilot and a passenger spent three hours clearing snow and ice before takeoff.

What was the worst plane crash in history? ›

KLM Flight 4805 and Pan Am Flight 1736, March 27, 1977

This crash remains the deadliest ever, claiming the lives of 583 people when two 747s collided on a foggy runway on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands.

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