McRorys restaurants. 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. Mr. Williams wore a ring identifying him as a Mason; the ring was found off the California coast and saved as a gift for his daughter, Tracy Knizek. Erickson was a student pilot. He had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.134 percent and 0.142 percent, according to the DOJ. William Bryant, 45, San FranciscoMr. 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. 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. Rescue vessels raced to the crash site three kilometers east of Anacapa Island in the Santa Barbara Channel, hoping to find survivors. But this very success may have planted the seeds of the disaster which followed. Did you encounter any technical issues? 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. 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. 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. 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.. Legal Statement. 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. I need everything picked up and everybody strapped down, he said, cause Im gonna unload the airplane and see if we can gain control of it that way. His intention was to fly at lower speeds where there would be less aerodynamic force pushing up on the stabilizer. A case worker at the Northwest AIDS Foundation, he joined with his partner in a commitment ceremony two years ago at First Baptist Church in Seattle with one of their dogs as the ring-bearer. The Safety Board found that this unsafe inspection interval was only approved indirectly by the FAA. 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. January 22, 2016 Examined 9:54 Whats next for Toxicology results showed that Weimers blood-alcohol was 0.238. LOS ANGELES -- Federal authorities have arrested a former Alaska Airlines captain on federal charges of piloting a plane while intoxicated. 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. On Wednesday, the U.S. Attorneys Office in central California announced that former Alaska Airlines captain David Hans Arnston had been sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison for piloting an aircraft with over 80 passengers aboard, CBS News reports. Keep us advised.. Okay, give me sl see, this is a bitch! said Thompson. Investigators also found that the planes gross weight at the time of the accident was about 50 pounds (22.7 kilograms) over the approved maximum. Uh, if you want to try it, thats ok with me, if not, thats fine. 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.. He was traveling with his wife, Patty Williams and their friends Bob and Lorna Thorgrimson. She studied art in Chicago and on the East Coast before coming West. 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. Okay, right rudder, right rudder, said Thompson. Thompson was an Air Force veteran who had flown for Alaska Airlines for more than 17 years. Having decided not to touch the trim system anymore, the crew now performed some final tests of the airplanes low speed handling. Thelma Thompson, 56, Fairbanks, AlaskaMrs. At 16:09, he said, Im gonna click it off. Discovery Company. Charlene Sipe, 53, BrierTraveling with Harry Stasinos, Ms. Sipe was also a longtime insurance agent. Mr. Deo immigrated from Fiji with his family when he was young. Pilots of nearby planes caught sight of flight 261 and radioed Los Angeles air traffic control. I really didnt want to hear about flow being the reason youre calling us, he said to the dispatcher, Cause Im concerned about overflying suitable airports., Well we want to do whats safe, said the dispatcher, so if thats what you feel is safe we just want to make sure you have all the info., The pilots asked for information on the runway conditions in San Francisco, and the dispatcher temporarily signed off to go find some. The revelations were in a report by the National Transportation Safety Board, the Anchorage Daily News reported . Craig Pulanco, 30, SeattleFormerly Craig Gruhl, Mr. Pulanco changed his name to that of his long-time partner, Paul Pulanco. She was a flight attendant for Alaska. 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. Jerri Fosmire, 48, Eugene, Ore.She was returning home early from a family vacation in Puerto Vallarta after suffering a back injury. The flight, eventually bound for Seattle, crashed off the California coast on Jan. 31, 2000. Both Captain Thompson and First Officer Tansky posthumously received the Air Line Pilots Association Gold Medal for Heroism. 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. The entire horizontal stabilizer assembly was now attached to the airplane only by the rear hinge. 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. Performing maintenance less frequently saved on labor costs and kept the planes in the air longer, thus increasing revenue. What he liked best in life was family, said his longtime medical assistant. Key safety-related positions within the airlines management structure went unfilled. KTLA 5 adds that Arnston will also have to pay a $10,000 fine, in addition. According to court documents, Arntson piloted two Alaska Airlines flights on June 20, 2014. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. He is a resident of Newport Beach, California. 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. 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. Bob Williams, 65, Poulsbo, Kitsap CountyHe was a builder who served on the Poulsbo city Planning Commission. 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. 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. She was a first-grader at Hay Elementary. He was an outgoing, friendly first-grader. She was part of the Flight 261 crew. But mostly he loved his wife, his grown son, golf and travel. Harry Stasinos, 54, BrierMr. 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. 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. As a result, Alaska Airlines slowly increased the interval between jackscrew lubrications from 500 flight hours in 1987 to every eight months (approximately 2,250 flight hours) in 1999. Web19K views 2 years ago. 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. The flight departs from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and arrives in Haines, Skip to content For Linious Mac McGee, 1932 marked the beginning of a new way of life, and steady work. Arntson was selected for random drug and alcohol testing by Alaska Airlines at at John Wayne Airport after landing. Meghann Hall, 19, EnumclawA graduate of Enumclaw High School, she had considered a career in sports medicine or coaching. 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. A ground-service agent for Horizon Air, she was outgoing and athletic, an avid volleyball player who hoped to become a personal trainer. Different speeds and phases of flight require the stabilizer to apply varying amounts of downforce on the tail in order to keep the plane level, and further adjustments must be made to ensure that the pilots dont have to continuously pull up or push down using the elevators in order to climb or descend. Should you poke holes in potatoes before boiling? / CBS News. Mr. Sparks was a guard on his schools varsity basketball team, and is remembered as a champion of the underdog who stood up for less-popular classmates. (David Arnston Google+). Jacquelyn Choate, 17, Santa Cruz, Calif.She was returning from a vacation with her father, Toni Choate. Web19K views 2 years ago. The NTSB report did not identify a probable cause of the crash. With Tom Church, he opened Six Degrees, which he hoped to turn into a chain of high-end neighborhood restaurants. Rodrigo Laigo, 53, Fairfield, Calif.An engineer for Arco, he was traveling with his wife, Naomi, on one of their many golf vacations. 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. The base confirmed that there werent any known problems with the stabilizer, and the discussion then turned to how to handle the failure. It worked. You heard it in the back? Tansky asked. Please enter valid email address to continue. It was the first sign that something was in fact gravely wrong with their airplane. 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. Numerous people saw the plane flying parallel to a mountain ridge before it turned and descended. Push push push, push the blue side up!, Okay, now lets kick rudder, left rudder, left rudder. She was traveling with her father, Dr. David Clemetson, her stepmother, Carolyn Clemetson, and their blended family. Increasing the interval between lubrications meant that every lubrication had to be done correctly in order to prevent accelerated wear and tear. The outcomes of wrongful death suits against Alaska filed by the victims families are unknown, but it has been reported that the airline eventually settled with the families out of court for a total of at least $300 million, all of which was covered by insurance. 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. 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. During the course of the investigation and in its final report, the NTSB issued a large number of recommendations, including that the lubrication procedure for the MD-80 series jackscrew be revised; that a more accurate method of measuring wear on the jackscrew be developed; that maintenance technicians be specifically taught how to grease and inspect jackscrews; that the FAA not approve lubrication interval extensions without the airline providing supporting data; that all airlines be surveyed to ensure compliance with jackscrew lubrication procedures; that a bulletin be issued instructing pilots not to troubleshoot inoperative flight controls; that maintenance personnel and dispatchers be trained not to suggest continuation of a flight that is experiencing a major malfunction; that the jackscrew be made easier for maintenance workers to access; that an inspector be required to sign off on every lubrication of the jackscrew; that all maintenance intervals for critical components be re-examined based on data analysis to ensure that they are not too long; that the application process for maintenance interval changes be reformed; that MD-80 series jackscrew inspections be made on a tighter schedule; that some failsafe mechanism be incorporated to ensure the redundancy of the MD-80 jackscrew; and that the FAA ensure future stabilizer designs cant have a single point of failure. They had no way of knowing at this stage that the problem was mechanical in nature. It can be interpreted (and alcoholics often reverse the order in their mind) that he therefore feels lost and is drinking and using drugs to run away from that sadness. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. The rows jump straight from 12 to 14. But the measurements were imprecise and repeated tests often produced different results allowing a certain amount of ambiguity as to whether the value was over or under the limit. 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. The pilot of Flight 261, Capt. You got it?. Alaska Airlines 261 is a chartered flight operated by Alaska Airlines. Erickson indicated that he and the pilot had been drinking alcoholic beverages, investigator Brice Banning wrote. That plane just started to do a big, huge plunge, said one pilot. 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. 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.. LOS ANGELES -- Federal authorities have arrested a former Alaska Airlines captain on federal charges of piloting a plane while intoxicated. Holy shit, said Thompson, pulling back hard on the controls. Kick! he shouted. Stacy Schuyler, 20, Federal WayA ground-service agent for Horizon Air, Ms. Schuyler was a 1997 graduate of Puyallup High School. He once owned the reknowned Blue Moon Tavern in the University District and the J & M Cafe in Pioneer Square. Federal regulations limit alcohol levels to 0.04 for airplane crew members.Were the bodies of Flight 261 recovered? He was survived by his wife, Gabriel, two daughters and two sons. Speedbrakes! Captain Thompson called out, still trying to find ways to arrest the dive. Her husband, Lee, 41, and children, 5-year-old Barbara and 11-year-old Daniel, stayed behind in Mexico. 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. Peggy Stockley, 62, SeattleAn animal lover and community activist, Mrs. Stockley was traveling with her husband, Tom Stockley. No decision was made at this point about whether or not to divert. Anything more than that and the nut would need to be replaced. 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. 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. Pearson was the first chef at the Jake OShaughnesseys and F.X. She is also survived by a son, Richard, in the Bay Area. It began life as a regional airline in Alaska, and by the time deregulation arrived in the late 1970s, it only had one destination in the lower 48 states. 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. Had it been inspected after 7,200 flight hours instead of 9,550, the excessive wear would have been discovered before the crash. She and her husband preached at The Rock Church Northwest in Monroe, home base for their Full Gospel non-denominational ministry. Then, additional grease was to be applied to the entire length of the screw, filling all the threads. The result was a chronic problem of Alaska Airlines MD-80s with poorly greased jackscrews. 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. The couple was considering starting their own insurance agency. Indeed, all seemed normal as flight 261 climbed out from Puerto Vallarta, heading for its cruising altitude of 31,000 feet. The crew scrambled to react to the massive upset. He is also survived by a grown son, Fred. A special inspection by the FAA after the accident found further evidence of a massively deficient safety culture at Alaska Airlines. Even though the pilots fought for control for a short period, an MD-80 will not Many of Alaskas maintenance workers received on the job training only without any formal curriculum. 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. One of six children born to Jovanna Luque of Olympia, Mr. Luque is the second child she has lost. What caused Alaska Airlines 261 to crash? That was the last time anyone ever measured the wear on the jackscrew nut on N963AS. Joyce Lake, 62, Corte Madera, Calif.She was the top seller at a local real-estate brokerage, an avid community activist and mother of three grown sons. Minimum first-time offenses include fines, possible jail time and mantadory alcohol treatment classes, among other penalties. 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. 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? All rights reserved. Anjesh Prasad, 19, BurienA 1998 Highline High School graduate and dedicated sports fan, he worked as a ground service agent for Horizon Air. Fire on Lake City Way in Seattle raises smoke, flooding concerns, WA to end masking requirement in health care, correctional facilities, Tacoma woman refusing tuberculosis treatment continues to face arrest, Be bolder to get light rail done, expert panel tells Sound Transit, Driver makes U-turn, hits pedestrian near Pioneer Square, police say. The pilots didnt want to discover on final approach that the plane was uncontrollable at low speeds. Still, the pilots did not give up; Thompson thought it might be possible to roll out right-side-up using the rudder. 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. 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.
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