On January 31, 2000, Alaska Airlines Flight 261, a McDonnell Douglas MD-83, lost control midair and crashed into the Pacific Ocean off California’s coast, killing all 88 people onboard. The crash was caused by a failure in the jackscrew assembly of the horizontal stabilizer due to improper lubrication and extended maintenance intervals. Despite heroic efforts by the pilots to regain control—even flying inverted—the aircraft entered a fatal dive. The incident led to major reforms in FAA oversight

The Story of Alaska Airlines flight 261 | MenTour Pilot

On January 31, 2000, Alaska Airlines Flight 261, a McDonnell Douglas MD-83, plummeted into the Pacific Ocean near Anacapa Island, California. All 88 people on board were killed. The investigation revealed that the horizontal stabilizer, which controls the plane’s pitch, had jammed due to the total failure of a critical 22 inch jackscrew assembly. The internal threads of the acme nut had completely stripped away, leaving the tail section useless and forcing the aircraft into a catastrophic, inver