Douglas MD-83 accident near Port Hueneme, CA

On February 1, 2000, a Douglas MD-83 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Port Hueneme, CA. 88 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.

Date

February 1, 2000

Place

Port Hueneme, CA

Aircraft

Douglas MD-83 · Airplane

Injuries

88 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor

Damage

Destroyed

Position

34.110°N, 119.111°W

NTSB ID

20001212X20339

Official records · DCA00MA023

• Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
• Investigation page: status, final report and safety recommendations

Air traffic control records

• Operations-Human Performance 2-Exhibit No 2c-Copies Of Air Traffic Control Transcripts_puerto Vallarta Mexico: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• Operations-Human Performance 2-Exhibit No 2d-Copies Of ATC Flight Progress Strip Puerto Vallarta Mexico: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• Operations-Human Performance 2-Exhibit No 2e-Summary Of Tape Recording Between Alaska Airlines Flight 261 And Sea M: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• ATC 3-Exhibit No 3a-Group Chairman Factual Report: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• ATC 3-Exhibit No 3b-Asa261-Los Angeles Center Communications Transcripts: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov

NTSB summary

The Safety Board's full report is available at www.ntsb.gov/publictn/publictn.htm. On January 31, 2000, about 1621 Pacific standard time, Alaska Airlines, Inc., flight 261, a McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (MD-83), N963AS, crashed into the Pacific Ocean about 2.7 miles north of Anacapa Island, California. The 2 pilots, 3 cabin crewmembers, and 83 passengers on board were killed, and the airplane was destroyed by impact forces. Flight 261 was operating as a scheduled international passenger flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 from Lic Gustavo Diaz Ordaz International Airport (PVR), Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to Seattle?Tacoma International Airport (SEA), Seattle, Washington, with an intermediate stop planned at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), San Francisco, California. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which operated on an instrument flight rules flight plan. The accident airplane arrived at PVR about 1239 on the day of the accident. The inbound pilots stated that they met the accident pilots outside the airplane and briefly discussed its status. Flight data recorder (FDR) information from the accident flight indicated that during taxi for takeoff, when the FDR started recording, the horizontal stabilizer was at the 7° airplane-nose-up position, which was the takeoff pitch trim setting. About 1337, the accident airplane departed PVR as flight 261. A National Transportation Safety Board review of FAA air traffic control (ATC) tapes and FDR data from the accident flight indicated that the first officer was the pilot

Probable cause

A loss of airplane pitch control resulting from the in-flight failure of the horizontal stabilizer trim system jackscrew assembly's acme nut threads. The thread failure was caused by excessive wear resulting from Alaska Airlines' insufficient lubrication of the jackscrew assembly. Contributing to the accident were Alaska Airlines' extended lubrication interval and the Federal Aviation Administrati

From Wikipedia

Alaska Airlines Flight 261 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Licenciado Gustavo Díaz Ordaz International Airport in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico, to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport near Seattle, Washington, United States, with an intermediate stop at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, California. On January 31, 2000, the McDonnell Douglas MD-83 operating the flight crashed into the Pacific Ocean roughly 2.7 miles (4.3 km; 2.3 nmi) north of Anacapa Island, California, following a catastrophic loss of pitch control, while attempting to divert to Los Angeles International Airport. The accident killed all 88 on board – two pilots, three cabin crew members, and 83 passengers.

The subsequent investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that inadequate maintenance led to excessive wear and eventual failure of a critical flight control system during flight.

Text from Wikipedia, “Alaska Airlines Flight 261”, CC BY-SA 4.0; shortened to the introduction. Authors.

More accidents in CA

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Browse: California · Douglas aircraft

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Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.