According to the official maintenance manual, greasing the jackscrew involved three main steps. But as the airline began cutting costs over the following decade, one of the areas that got put on the chopping block was maintenance. Whatever we did is no good, dont do that again, said Tansky. Legal Statement. He also served for a time with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Dr. David Clemetson, 40, SeattleA specialist in infectious diseases, Dr. Clemetson was traveling with his wife, Carolyn Clemetson, and the couples four blended-family children, Coriander, Blake, Miles and Spencer Clemetson. When daughter Grace was born two years ago, he started saving Sundays for family. Spencer Clemetson, 6 months, SeattleA peaceful baby, Spencer blended the new Clemetson family, with older sisters Coriander and Blake on his fathers side, and brother Miles on his mothers side. Well see you at the gate. This would be the last transmission between flight 261 and Alaska Airlines maintenance. Bradley Long, 39, SacramentoA successful real estate broker, Mr. Long was flying home from visiting the bed-and-breakfast inn he owned in Puerto Vallarta with his partner, William Knudson. Thelma Thompson, 56, Fairbanks, AlaskaMrs. Malcolm Branson, 39, Seward, AlaskaAn oiler for the Alaska Marine Highway ferry system, Mr. Branson was vacationing with his fiancee, Janice Stokes. Did it happen went in reverse? Tansky asked. Oh yeah, let me get said Tansky. The flight departs from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and arrives in Haines, Skip to content Pilot Error In Alaska 261 Note: this accident was previously featured in episode 2 of the plane crash series on September 16th, 2017, prior to the series arrival on Medium. Robert Hovey, 50, San FranciscoHe was an athletic, outdoorsy, avid traveler who lived on a sailboat on San Francisco Bay. 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. 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. Toni Choate, 48, San FranciscoHe had been a general contractor and cabinet finisher in Visalia, Calif., then bought a bar in Santa Clara, Calif. Born in Hawaii, Mr. Ing grew up on Mercer Island, graduating from Mercer Island High School in 1990. Abigail Busche, 25, SeattleRecently hired by Microsoft as a permanent employee, she was traveling with her husband, Ryan Busche. During the 1990s, low-cost competitors such as MarkAir in Alaska and Southwest Airlines in the Pacific Northwest began trying to undercut Alaskas more traditional fare model on numerous core routes. She was also accompanied by her longtime companion, Charles Russell. And then, as the plane passed through 23,400 feet, a warning light flicked on in the cockpit: AUTOPILOT TRIM, it said. (David Arnston Google+). 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. Web19K views 2 years ago. PLANE CRASH, Alaska Airlines Flight 261, Pacific At this point the checklist said Consider stab jammed, do not use autopilot, and offered a list of considerations to be made during landing. He was coming home with his wife, Carol. The 2 pilots, 3 cabin crew members, and 83 passengers on board were killed, and the airplane William Bryant, 45, San FranciscoMr. Fox News Alexandra Deabler contributed to this report. Stokes had three college-age children, as well as a brother in Seattle and a sister in Alaska. Both Captain Thompson and First Officer Tansky posthumously received the Air Line Pilots Association Gold Medal for Heroism. Who was the pilot of Alaska Airlines Flight 261? How long does it take for a potato to cook at 350? 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. 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. Let me just try it, Tansky said, offering to take over the strenuous task of holding the plane level. Russel Ing, 28, SeattleA visual-arts graduate who worked in graphic design for Kinkos in Woodinville, Mr. Ing won awards for his photography. All rights reserved. Within the next several minutes the pilots expected to pass abeam Los Angeles off the coast, and they were strongly considering a diversion to LAX, given that none of their troubleshooting had fixed the problem. The pilots were able to stabilize the plane, inverted, for less than a minute (with a 9pitch towards the ocean). In the ten minutes that had passed since the dive, the stabilizer had been held at 3.1 degrees nose down by nothing more than the mechanical stop on the bottom of the jackscrew. The revelations were in a report by the National Transportation Safety Board, the Anchorage Daily News reported . The only layer of protection against a catastrophe was therefore the assumption that poorly trained, low-paid maintenance workers would apply enough grease. She was traveling with her husband, Terry, their two sons, and their sons friends. Alaska Flight 261 She is survived by her husband of 13 years, Phil Salyer. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Ellen Masland Salyer, 51, Sebastopol, Calif.She was an active community volunteer who was dedicated to various organizations, including the Boy Scouts. All large airplanes have what is referred to as a trimmable horizontal stabilizer. Still, the pilots did not give up; Thompson thought it might be possible to roll out right-side-up using the rudder. The crew scrambled to react to the massive upset. He was traveling with William Bryant, his best friend. Airlines Flight 261 Instead it went the other way., What do you think. Alaska Flight 261 Bermudez was a firefighter who helped save the life of a person trapped inside a burning building in 1988. James Jay Luque, 40, San FranciscoMr. He lived with his mother in Oakland and spent much of his time caring for exotic birds, his koi pond and a garden. It was no wonder, given these findings, why Alaska Airlines mechanics didnt know how to grease the jackscrew, and why nobody held them accountable for not doing so properly. Yeah, we tried everything together, said Thompson. Please enter valid email address to continue. 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. It disappeared from view and witnesses saw a plume of black smoke. We are at twenty three seven, request, uh, Thompson said to the controller. Thus the fundamental principle of redundancy was violated. 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. The last minutes of those on board the doomed MD-83 would have been sheer hell, as the plane went inverted, corkscrewed, pirouetted, and spun like a top during its final dive. At 15:49, after flying for two hours with a jammed stabilizer, Thompson and Tansky contacted Alaskas Seattle maintenance base for advice. In September of 1997, maintenance workers in Oakland performed the aforementioned test on N963AS and found a wear depth of exactly one millimeter. Ted Thompson, 53, Redlands, Calif.The pilot of Flight 261, Capt. And hes just hit the water, said one pilot. Passengers and Crew Members on Alaska Airlines Flight 261 Toxicology results showed that Weimers blood-alcohol was 0.238. SkyWest 5154, the MD-80 is one becoming two oclock about ten miles now. He is survived by his wife, Earlene Shaw, who works at the state Senate cafeteria. 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. All Rights Reserved. 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. 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. Yes sir, he he hit the water, said the SkyWest pilot, his voice nearly cracking. He then flew a plane from Portland, Oregon, to John Wayne Airport in Orange County. Bryant was a travel agent who was excited when he received free tickets for a trip to Mexico. 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. 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. Technical logs fell through the cracks; critical forms were left incomplete; paperwork was outright falsified to show work done when it was not. 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. Even though the pilots fought for control for a short period, an MD-80 will not Market data provided by Factset. Indeed, the final, terrifying dive was the culmination not just of hours of failed troubleshooting, but of years upon years of negligent maintenance, blatant corruption, and lax federal oversight, a deadly combination that led to an unprecedented failure of the stabilizer trim jackscrew one of the scariest malfunctions any flight crew has ever faced. Ryan Sparks, 20, EnumclawA graduate of Enumclaw High School, Mr. Sparks was traveling with his girlfriend, Meghann Hall, and her friend Rachel Janosik. 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. A former Alaska Airlines pilot will spend a year behind bars for flying intoxicated at three times over the legal limit in June 2014. The pilot of Flight 261, Capt. The FAA approved the extension without assessing the effect this would have on individual inspection tasks that were tied to the C-check interval. 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. In 1996, Alaska Airlines applied to the FAA to extend the interval between its C-checks from 13 months to 15 months. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. Russell and Permison lived in a retirement community where they were beloved for their lively parties and volunteer work. What would cause an airplane to nosedive? Okay, give me sl see, this is a bitch! said Thompson. However, during the 1990s the quality of maintenance at Alaska Airlines began to slip significantly. 2 men found drugged after leaving NYC gay bars were killed, medical examiner says, Pittsburgh woman missing for 31 years found alive in Puerto Rico, Alex Murdaugh found guilty of murders of wife and son. He was a vice president of business development for Creditland, Inc. Only by applying a continuous maximum nose up elevator input on his control column, a task which required enormous physical effort, was Captain Thompson able to maintain level flight. Thorgrimson, a founding partner of a prominent Seattle-based law firm. Juan Marquez, 34, San FranciscoAn adult-education book salesman, he owned two condos in Puerto Vallarta with his partner, Dale Rettinger, and went there often to relax. 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. 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. She was part of the Flight 261 crew. McRorys restaurants. 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. Hard-working, compassionate and caring, the Pulancos shared their Beacon Hill home with two dogs and a cat. 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. Instead, all they could find was an oil slick and some light floating debris. 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. The revelations were in a report by the National Transportation Safety Board, the Anchorage Daily News reported . At that moment they effectively were dead. Mr. Deo immigrated from Fiji with his family when he was young. January 22, 2016 Examined 9:54 Whats next for PLANE CRASH, Alaska Airlines Flight 261, Pacific 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. Thompson was an Air Force veteran who had flown for Alaska Airlines for more than 17 years. A special inspection by the FAA after the accident found further evidence of a massively deficient safety culture at Alaska Airlines. 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. Planes inverted sir, a nearby pilot told the controller. 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. The eight-year-old McDonnell Douglas MD-83, registered as N963AS, outwardly seemed to be in good shape. Charlene Sipe, 53, BrierTraveling with Harry Stasinos, Ms. Sipe was also a longtime insurance agent. 2. pilot drunk 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. 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. Rodney Pearson, 45, SeattleMr. While Tansky held the plane steady, Thompson contacted LAX maintenance again. 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. 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. Toxicology results showed that Weimers blood-alcohol was 0.238. The rows jump straight from 12 to 14. Thompson was an Air Force veteran who had flown for Alaska Airlines for more than 17 years. Even though the pilots fought for control for a short period, an MD-80 will not 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. It really wants to pitch down., Alaska two six one, said the controller, Say your condition?, Two six one, we are at 24,000 feet, kinda stabilized, said Thompson. The NTSB report did not identify a probable cause of the crash. But this very success may have planted the seeds of the disaster which followed. Even though the pilots fought for control for a short period, an MD-80 will not Arntson was released on a $25,000 bond and was ordered to appear for an arraignment on February 10. 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. 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. Salvage vessels had to be brought in to raise the rest of the plane from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. 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. At 16:07, flight 261 contacted Alaska Airlines Los Angeles maintenance facility on the radio. CNN has reached out to Alaska Airlines for comment. 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. / CBS News. He won commendations from a booster group for the action. And while the airline did eventually settle the suits, it did so only after dragging the families through what many described as a legal hell in which Alaskas lawyers tried to downplay the monetary value of their deceased loved ones. 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. 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. AMERICAN AIRLINES PASSENGER BITTEN BY BROWN RECLUSE SPIDER ON PLANE, LAWSUIT CLAIMS. 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 flight, eventually bound for Seattle, crashed off the California coast on Jan. 31, 2000. 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. pilots Russell was traveling with his companion, Jean Permison, and her family. She played fast-pitch softball in high school and soccer at Bellevue Community College. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. 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. Mechanical stops attached to the jackscrew prevent the stabilizer from moving farther than 2.5 degrees upward or 12.5 degrees downward. He is survived by his wife of five years, Susan da Silva. They heard a helicopter, but they were unable to fire the flare gun successfully and the helicopter left. Harry Stasinos, 54, BrierMr. He retired in 1989, but continued his column, which began in 1973. Badly shaken witnesses reported the crash to air traffic control within seconds. 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.. You mean, use this again? Tansky asked, presumably pointing at the trim switches. Kristin Mills, 26, Las VegasShe lived in Las Vegas with her husband of three years, Dave, but kept a home in Seattle so she could work at her dream job as a flight attendant with Alaska Airlines. He was a favored friend in the neighborhood where he lived with his wife, Marilyn. 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. 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. 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?