Remembering Alaska Airlines Flight 261

I have never enjoyed flying in an airplane. As far back as I can remember, I've always had a healthy sense of fear and trepidation about careening through the atmosphere in a large metal tube with seats. It seems too unnatural for a human being to be in the air. Humans are land animals; we are not birds. We don't have wings, and we don't have aerodynamic bodies, so, in my estimation, we have no business being in the air! If God or Mother Nature or whatever power or force you believe in had intended for humans to fly, I'm sure we would have been equipped for it. But we are not. Needless to say, I haven't flown in over fifteen years, and I don't plan on starting anytime soon. Whenever I get the urge to "conquer" this fear of flying that I have or challenge my long-held belief that humans don't belong in the air by buying a ticket and boarding a plane, my mind immediately recalls one of the more sinister airplane crashes in modern times: the crash of Alaska Airlines flight 261 off the coast of Oxnard, California. The mere thought of this tragic airplane accident sends shivers down my spine.

All airplane crashes are tragic. Any time an airplane crashes or bursts into flames and lives get lost, it is a tragic and sad occurrence. But the crash of Alaska Airlines flight 261 holds a special place in my heart as being a crash that must have been utterly incomprehensible for the panic and terror that it had to have caused for the terrified passengers. Most airline crashes, with a few exceptions, are catastrophic failures of mechanical integrity or pilot error that result in a quick, sudden crash. Something goes wrong, usually on takeoff or landing, and the jet crashes to the ground in a matter of seconds. There is usually no long period of doubt, struggle, or worry over whether or not the plane is going to fly, crash, or teeter on the verge of flying or crashing for any length of time. The crash itself and the events that caused it are over in mere seconds. That was not the case with Alaska Airlines flight 261, and that is why this particular plane crash sends shivers and chills down my spine when I recall this tragic disaster. The length of time that the entire ordeal lasted, from beginning to fatal end, was unfathomable.

On December 31st, 2000, after leaving Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, en route to a scheduled stop in San Francisco, California, Alaska Airlines flight 261 was at its cruising altitude and nearing the Los Angeles basin when the pilots first radioed in that they were having some difficulty controlling the airplane. Stating that they were having problems with the horizontal stabilizer - a portion of the tail assembly that controls the angle of the airplane's nose - the pilots inquired about possibly diverting their flight to Los Angeles International Airport instead of continuing on to their scheduled stopover in San Francisco. After a few minutes of troubleshooting by the pilots, Alaska Airlines flight 261 started a sudden, uncontrolled dive. This dive lasted for approximately eighty seconds, at which time the pilots were eventually able to regain control of the aircraft by exerting significant force on their flight controls to keep the nose of the airplane up. During this uncontrolled dive, the airplane went from nearly 32,000 feet down to 18,000 feet; a loss of nearly three miles! I can only imagine what was going on inside the cabin of that plane during this dive. What was it like for the passengers and crew members? What was flashing through their minds as the plane started to fall towards the sea at a mind-numbing rate of speed? They had no idea what was happening, and they had no idea that the plane would eventually be brought under conrol - temporarily!

After miraculously regaining control of the aircraft, the pilots radioed in that they were in a dire situation and needed to get down to a lower altitude to do some troubleshooting out over the Los Angeles Harbor. Plans were made for the jet to make an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport. While attempting to start their descent towards the airport, and while trying to gauge their ability to handle the crippled jet, the jet suddenly plunged, nose down, towards the Pacific Ocean. Approximately ten minutes after the first uncontrolled dive, which lasted approximately 80 seconds, Alaska Airlines flight 261 made it's final, fatal dive; plunging from an altitude of 17,500 feet and slamming, nose down, into the Pacific Ocean approximately 86 seconds later. Turning and spinning violently as it fell, the Alaska Airlines jet actually became inverted; the plane was upside down, falling through the air! The pilots, as evidenced by the cockpit voice recorder, tried in vain to regain control of their injured jet, even as the plane was upside down and the pilots were undoubtedly hanging from their seat belt restraints. They never stopped fighting. A few seconds before the plane hit the water, one last "mayday" was heard from the co-pilot. Other pilots in the vicinity, who were alerted to keep a visual on the Alaska jet, reported that "the plane is in a nose down position and descending quite rapidly" and "uh, yeah, he's definately out of control"! A final pilot, a captain of a nearby Sky West jet, reported on the final condition of Alaska Airlines flight 261, stating, " uh, yes, he is uh, he just hit the water, he's down"!

There were 83 passengers and 5 crew members aboard Alaska Airlines flight 261. All those aboard died instantly upon impact. After months and months of careful investigation, it was deemed that a worn jackscrew assembly was the cause of the airplane's uncontrolled and, ultimately, fatal dive into the ocean. Inadequate lubrication and inspection of the jackscrew, which enables the horizontal stabilizer in the airplane's tail section to work properly, resulted in the jackscrew itself becoming jammed and preventing the pilots from raising the nose of the aircraft. A horrible, horrible tragedy could have and should have been averted by careful and rigid maintenance checks.

So, whenever I think of airplanes and airplane crashes, I can't help but think of the horrific event that befell Alaska Airlines flight 261. I break out in goosebumps when I ponder what was going through the minds of the passengers and crew members during either one of the uncontrolled dives that the airplane endured. I can imagine the screaming, the yelling, the flying luggage being hurled through the airplane compartment; the sheer terror and panic that had to have gripped the entire plane. There were little children on that flight - some as young as two and three years old - who didn't deserve to meet their end like that. And for what? An improperly lubricated and maintenanced screw assembly brought an entire airplane down. After the plane started its first uncontrolled dive and, after eighty seconds of sheer terror, the pilots were able to regain control of the aircraft, I'm sure many of the passengers and crew members were relieved that their nightmare was over; the plane was now under control and they would be landing soon at Los Angeles International Airport. And then the final dive! Another eighty-plus seconds of sheer terror that would only end with the disintegration of the airplane as it crashed into the ocean.

I realize that, statistically, flying in an airplane is remarkably safe; much safer than driving in a car, so they say. And I won't disagree. Airplane crashes are very rare. When you consider the number of flights that depart and land over the course of a day all over the world, the risk of dying in an airplane crash is minuscule. I am aware of that. But to get on an airplane and fly through the sky ; that takes a tremendous amount of faith, not only in the skills of the pilot, but also in the aircraft itself. Sometimes things just happen. Parts go bad, engines fail, maintenance checks get missed, e.t.c. As evidenced by the Alaska Airlines flight 261 crash, all it takes is for something small to fail or malfunction and then boom! At least in a car you have a fighting chance; you are on the ground and have nowhere to fall!