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84-656: The Naval Justice School was founded in 1946 at Port Hueneme, California and moved to Newport, Rhode Island in 1950. It has additional campuses in Norfolk, Virginia and San Diego, California and a branch office in Charlottesville, Virginia . Beginning in 1990, the institution also began instructing U.S. civilians and foreign government officials in human rights law. 41°30′46″N 71°19′18″W  /  41.512858°N 71.321688°W  / 41.512858; -71.321688 This United States Navy article

168-510: A C-check . Testimony from the director of reliability and maintenance programs of Alaska Airlines was that a data-analysis package based on the maintenance history of five sample aircraft was submitted to the FAA to justify the extended period between C-checks. Individual maintenance tasks (such as the end-play check) were not separately considered in this extension. The NTSB found, "Alaska Airlines' end-play check interval extension should have been, but

252-454: A libel suit against the airline. The crash of AS261 became a part of the federal investigation against Alaska Airlines, because, in 1997, Liotine had recommended that the jackscrew and gimbal nut of the accident aircraft be replaced, but had been overruled by another supervisor. In December 2001, federal prosecutors stated that they were not going to file criminal charges against Alaska Airlines. Around that time, Alaska Airlines agreed to settle

336-405: A block altitude, and several aircraft in the vicinity had been alerted by ATC to maintain visual contact with the stricken jet. These aircraft immediately contacted the controller. One pilot radioed, "That plane has just started to do a big huge plunge." Another reported, "Yes sir, ah, I concur. He is, uh, definitely in a nose down, uh, position, descending quite rapidly." ATC then tried to contact

420-643: A family airline." As of 2023, Flight 261 no longer exists, and Alaska Airlines no longer operates the Puerto Vallarta–San Francisco–Seattle/Tacoma route. Alaska Airlines now flies from Puerto Vallarta–Seattle/Tacoma nonstop with Flights 1380 and 1411 and Puerto Vallarta—San Francisco nonstop with Flights 1369 and 1370. The airline retired the last of its MD-80s in 2008 and now uses Boeing 737s for these routes. Captain Thompson and First Officer Tansky were both posthumously awarded

504-495: A female householder with no husband present, and 31.2% were non-families. Twenty-four point one percent of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.86 and the average family size was 3.42. In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.6% under the age of 18, 13.2% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 16.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age

588-747: A jackscrew less likely. In 1998, an Alaska Airlines mechanic named John Liotine, who worked in the Alaska Airlines maintenance center in Oakland, California , told the FAA that supervisors were approving records of maintenance that they were not allowed to approve or that indicated work had been completed when, in fact, it had not. Liotine began working with federal investigators by secretly audio recording his supervisors. On December 22, 1998, federal authorities raided an Alaska Airlines property and seized maintenance records. In August 1999, Alaska Airlines put Liotine on paid leave, and in 2000, Liotine filed

672-469: A kids zone, local vendors, and food/drink. Attendees spend the day celebrating the over 3.3 billion bananas that come through the Port of Hueneme each year and have the chance to receive free bananas/banana products from the companies working to transport bananas through the port such as Del Monte and Chiquita . This South facing beach offers pitching waves year-round from a multitude of swell directions. As

756-417: A lack of city support, and financial troubles such as an increases in fees for insurance, and food handling regulations. There are pictures of the early Hueneme Harbor Days Festival at the local history museum. The Banana Festival is an annual event with tours of the port, food, and entertainment. Since 2011, the Port of Hueneme holds the event on the port grounds. The festival includes port tours, live bands,

840-409: A mechanical failure. U.S. Navy Base Ventura County, adjacent to the port, was the staging ground for recovery of the wreckage. The victims' families later approved the construction of a memorial sundial designed by Santa Barbara artist James "Bud" Bottoms, which was placed on the beach close to the crash site. Victims' names are placed on bronze plates mounted on the dial's perimeter. The sundial casts

924-450: A possible diversion to LAX. The jammed stabilizer prevented the operation of the trim system, which would normally make slight adjustments to the flight control surfaces to keep the plane stable in flight. At their cruising altitude and speed, the position of the jammed stabilizer required the pilots to pull on their yokes with about 10 lbf (44 N) of force to keep level. Neither the flight crew nor company maintenance could determine

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1008-605: A result of great surf, Port Hueneme surfers are territorial and localism has been known to be a problem. Most of the city of Port Hueneme lies within the boundaries of the Hueneme School District . Portions of the city north of Channel Islands are served by Oxnard Elementary School District . Elementary schools within Port Hueneme include: Hueneme Elementary, Richard Bard Elementary, Parkview Elementary, and Sunkist Elementary. Hueneme High School of

1092-711: A shadow on a memorial plaque at 16:22 each January 31. Port Hueneme is located on the southwest portion of the Oxnard Plain on the Pacific Ocean . According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 4.7 square miles (12.1 km (4.7 sq mi) (11.5 km ) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km ) of it (4.70%) is water. This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. According to

1176-534: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article relating to law in the United States or its constituent jurisdictions is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Port Hueneme, California Port Hueneme ( / w aɪ ˈ n iː m i / wy- NEEM -ee ; Chumash : Wene Me ) is a small beach city in Ventura County, California , surrounded by

1260-673: Is the only deep water port between the Los Angeles and the San Francisco , and the only Navy -controlled harbor between San Diego Bay and Puget Sound, Washington . The harbor is a shipping and receiving point for a wide variety of goods destined for the Los Angeles Basin and beyond, including automobiles, pineapples, and bananas. Agricultural products such as onions, strawberries, and flowers are shipped. The city receives about $ 2 million in tax revenue annually from

1344-523: The Air Line Pilots Association Gold Medal for Heroism, in recognition of their actions during the emergency. This is the only time the award has ever been given posthumously. The Ted Thompson/Bill Tansky Scholarship Fund was named in memory of the two pilots. The victims' families approved the construction of a memorial sundial , designed by Santa Barbara artist James "Bud" Bottoms, which was placed at Port Hueneme on

1428-753: The Köppen Climate Classification system, Port Hueneme has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate , abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps. The 2010 United States Census reported that Port Hueneme had a population of 21,723. The population density was 4,651.2 inhabitants per square mile (1,795.8/km ). The racial makeup of Port Hueneme was 12,357 (56.9%) White , 1,111 (5.1%) African American , 295 (1.4%) Native American , 1,299 (6.0%) Asian , 119 (0.5%) Pacific Islander , 5,224 (24.0%) from other races , and 1,318 (6.1%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11,360 people (52.3%). The Census reported that 20,854 people (96.0% of

1512-493: 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. The probable cause was stated to be "a loss of airplane pitch control resulting from the in-flight failure of the horizontal stabilizer trim system jackscrew assembly's Acme nut threads." For their efforts to save

1596-554: The Oxnard Union High School District serves most of the city. Portions of the city north of Channel Islands are served by Oxnard High School . Ventura County Library serves the community through its local branch, the Ray D. Prueter Library. Alaska Airlines Flight 261 Alaska Airlines Flight 261 was an Alaska Airlines flight of a McDonnell Douglas MD-80 series aircraft that crashed into

1680-670: The Pacific Ocean on January 31, 2000, roughly 2.7 miles (4.3 km; 2.3 nmi) north of Anacapa Island , California , following a catastrophic loss of pitch control, killing all 88 on board: 5 crew and 83 passengers. The flight 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 near San Francisco , California . The subsequent investigation by

1764-642: The Santa Clara River . Hueneme was the second largest grain shipping port on the Pacific coast between 1871 and 1895. A 650-foot-long (200 m) pier was built in 1956 as a construction trestle for a sewer outfall pipeline. The fishing pier is now 1,250 feet (380 m) after having been modified over the years. On January 31, 2000, Alaska Airlines Flight 261 crashed into the Pacific Ocean between Port Hueneme and Anacapa Island after

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1848-488: The flight data recorder (FDR) and CVR were retrieved. All wreckage recovered from the crash site was unloaded at the Seabees ' Naval Construction Battalion Center Port Hueneme , California, for examination and documentation by NTSB investigators. Both the horizontal stabilizer trim system jackscrew (also referred to as " acme screw ") and the corresponding acme nut, through which the jackscrew turns, were found. The jackscrew

1932-974: The poverty line , including 16.7% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over. The business district is on Channel Islands Boulevard on the north side of the city separated from the original downtown by the Naval base. Under the legalization of the sale and distribution of cannabis in California, the city developed a model program as the only city in Ventura county to initially allow multiple types of marijuana businesses, including cultivation, manufacturing and retail sales. Commercial activities, such as growing, testing, and selling cannabis within their jurisdiction may be regulated by each city by licensing none or only some of these activities but local governments may not prohibit adults from growing, using, or transporting marijuana for personal use. The retail shops in

2016-482: The "Hueneme Beach Festival", the HHD Board of Directors ran the 'Port Hueneme Harbor Days Festival & Parade' with food, bands, entertainment, kids attractions, vendor booths, and activities, such as kite-flying contests, sand sculpture contests, metal detection contests, and a long time ago, bathing suit contests. HHB was started in 1950 and ended in 2001, after 51 years of successful operations. The demise came from

2100-487: The CVR recorded the sounds of at least four distinct "thumps", followed 17 seconds later by an "extremely loud noise", as the overstrained jackscrew assembly failed completely and the jackscrew separated from the acme nut holding it in place. As a result, the horizontal stabilizer failed at 17,800 feet (5,400 m) and the aircraft rapidly pitched over into a dive while rolling to the left. The crippled plane had been given

2184-467: The California coast. The names of each of the victims are engraved on individual bronze plates mounted on the perimeter of the dial. The sundial casts a shadow on a memorial plaque at 16:22 each January 31. Many residents of Seattle had been deeply affected by the disaster. As part of a memorial vigil in 2000, a column of light was beamed from the top of the Space Needle . Students and faculty at

2268-597: The John Hay Elementary School in Queen Anne, Seattle , held a memorial for four Hay students who were killed in the crash. In April 2001, John Hay Elementary dedicated the "John Hay Pathway Garden" as a permanent memorial to the students and their families who were killed on Flight 261. The City of Seattle public park Soundview Terrace was renovated in honor of the four Pearson and six Clemetson family members who were killed on board Flight 261 from

2352-665: The Lighthouse Promenade, provides a paved public access along the shoreline with two historic sites at viewpoints: the 1872 Wharf and the Oxnard Packing House. The name Hueneme derives from the Spanish spelling of the Ventureño Chumash name Wene Me , meaning "Resting Place". In the 1800s, the postmaster named the post office Wynema after his company, Wynema Lighter Co. The town's name

2436-487: The NTSB considered a number of potential reasons for the substantial amount of deterioration of the nut thread on the jackscrew assembly, including the substitution by Alaska Airlines (with the approval of the aircraft manufacturer McDonnell Douglas) of Aeroshell 33 grease instead of the previously approved lubricant, Mobilgrease 28. The use of Aeroshell 33 was found to be not a factor in this accident. Insufficient lubrication of

2520-648: The adjacent Channel Islands in October 1542. Thomas Bard learned of the submarine canyon at Point Hueneme and took advantage of the canyon depth to construct the Hueneme Wharf in 1871 here. The existing street grid of the town was formally laid out in 1888. Until the construction of the Montalvo Cutoff that brought the railroad to nearby Oxnard, the wharf was the principal means of transportation for that portion of Ventura County lying south of

2604-419: The adjacent city of Oxnard. About 15 percent were from Camarillo and 10 percent from Ventura with the remaining 15 percent of customers coming from other areas. During a city sponsored workshop in 2019, the chief of the state Bureau of Cannabis Control , which regulates the industry said, “I think you have a lot to be proud of this city. This city has shown if it's done right, it really works well.” In 2022,

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2688-431: The aircraft certification requirements. The jackscrew assembly was designed with two independent threads, each of which was strong enough to withstand the forces placed on it. Maintenance procedures such as lubrication and end-play checks were to catch any excessive wear before it progressed to a point of failure of the system. The aircraft designers assumed that at least one set of threads would always be present to carry

2772-414: The blue side up," "ok now let's kick rudder...left rudder left rudder", to which the copilot responded, "I can't reach it". The captain then replied, "ok right rudder...right rudder," followed 18 seconds later by "gotta get it over again...at least upside down we're flying." Despite the attempt to fly the plane inverted, which almost entirely arrested its descent, the aircraft had lost too much altitude in

2856-537: The cannabis revenue. In the fiscal year 2020, the city collected $ 2.2 million. Businesses are required to contribute one percent to community activities. Near the end of 2023, the city had nine dispensaries, seven delivery-only services and one microbusiness that has cannabis retail, cultivation and distribution. The fees collected by the city peaked at $ 2.9 million in 2022 with businesses reporting stagnant or falling revenue in 2023. The Port of Hueneme, shared with Oxnard Harbor District and Naval Base Ventura County ,

2940-426: The cause of the jam. Repeated attempts to overcome the jam with the primary and alternate trim systems were unsuccessful. During this time, the flight crew had several discussions with the company dispatcher about whether to divert to LAX or continue on as planned to SFO. Ultimately, the pilots chose to divert. Later, the NTSB found that while "the flight crew's decision to divert the flight to Los Angeles   ...

3024-435: The checklists, they should land at the nearest suitable airport. In NTSB board member John J. Goglia's statement for the final report, with which the other three board members concurred, he wrote: This is a maintenance accident. Alaska Airlines' maintenance and inspection of its horizontal stabilizer activation system were poorly conceived and woefully executed. The failure was compounded by poor oversight ... Had any of

3108-464: The city are required to have armed security on the premises during hours of operation with some businesses deciding to have a guard nearby 24 hours a day. Security video feed from the shops must be accessible to the police at all times. By the end of 2018, the city had four recreational marijuana storefronts. As one of the few cities with retail, the city found that about 10 percent of the customers are from Port Hueneme with approximately 50 percent from

3192-524: The city council approved allowing cannabis events with sale and consumption at the Hueneme Beach Park parking lots after a small cannabis farmers market in December 2021 generated about $ 4,000 in city revenue. Only one event of the series of six events occurred after the first event had poor attendance and sales, prompting the event organizers to cancel the remaining 5 approved events. The city

3276-556: The city of Oxnard and the Santa Barbara Channel . Both the Port of Hueneme and Naval Base Ventura County lie within the city limits. Port Hueneme has a south-facing sand beach, known for its surfing . The beach has a wooden fishing pier and is about a mile long between Ormond Beach downcoast and Point Hueneme Light at the harbor entrance shared by the naval base and the port. The Waterfront Promenade, also known as

3360-402: The city was 57.27% White , 6.06% African American , 1.69% Native American , 6.33% Asian , 0.50% Pacific Islander , 21.84% from other races , and 6.30% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 41.02% of the population. There were 7,268 households, out of which 37.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.9% were married couples living together, 13.5% had

3444-444: The components was also considered as a reason for the wear. Examination of the jackscrew and acme nut revealed that no effective lubrication was present on these components at the time of the accident. Ultimately, the lack of lubrication of the acme-nut thread and the resultant excessive wear were determined to be the direct causes of the accident. Both of these circumstances resulted from Alaska Airlines' attempts to cut costs. Due to

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3528-558: The controls did the flight crew stop the 6,000 ft/min (1,800 m/min) descent of the aircraft and stabilize the MD-83 at roughly 24,400 ft (7,400 m). Alaska 261 informed air traffic control (ATC) of their control problems. After the flight crew stated their intention to land at LAX, ATC asked whether they wanted to proceed to a lower altitude in preparation for the approach. The captain replied: "I need to get down to about ten, change my configuration, make sure I can control

3612-573: The crash, Alaska Airlines management said that it hoped to handle the aftermath in a manner similar to that conducted by Swissair after the Swissair Flight 111 accident. They wished to avoid the mistakes made by Trans World Airlines in the aftermath of the TWA Flight 800 accident, in other words, TWA's failure to provide timely information and compassion to the families of the victims. Steve Miletich of The Seattle Times wrote that

3696-590: The crash. Both pilots lived in Greater Los Angeles area and had previous military experience — Thompson in the U.S. Air Force and Tansky in the U.S. Navy . Three Seattle -based flight attendants were also on board, completing the five-person crew. The five crew members and 47 of the passengers on board the plane were bound for Seattle. Of the remaining passengers, 30 were traveling to San Francisco ; three were bound for Eugene, Oregon ; and three passengers were headed for Fairbanks, Alaska . Of

3780-423: The dive and was far beyond recovery. A few seconds before 16:21 (00:21 UTC), Flight 261 hit the Pacific Ocean at high speed between the coastal city of Port Hueneme, California , and Anacapa Island . At this time, pilots from aircraft flying in the vicinity reported in, with one pilot saying, "and he's just hit the water." Another reported, "Ah, yes sir, he, ah, he, ah, hit the water. He's, ah, down." The aircraft

3864-473: The end-play check that did not meet the manufacturer's requirements. Testing revealed that the nonstandard tools ("restraining fixtures") used by Alaska Airlines could result in inaccurate measurements and that if accurate measurements had been obtained at the time of the last inspection, these measurements possibly would have indicated the excessive wear and the need to replace the affected components. Between 1985 and 1996, Alaska Airlines progressively increased

3948-435: The extreme impact forces, only a few bodies were found intact, and none were visually identifiable. All passengers were identified using fingerprints, dental records, tattoos, personal items, and anthropological examination. The investigation then proceeded to examine why scheduled maintenance had failed to adequately lubricate the jackscrew assembly. In interviews with the Alaska Airlines mechanic at SFO, who last performed

4032-568: The four-month period between the September 1999 maintenance and the accident flight. Therefore, the NTSB concluded, "more than just the last lubrication was missed or inadequately performed." A periodic maintenance inspection called an " end-play check" was used to monitor wear on the jackscrew assembly. The NTSB examined why the last end-play check on the accident aircraft in September 1997 did not uncover excessive wear. The investigation found that Alaska Airlines had fabricated tools to be used in

4116-402: The investigation could not determine what information, if any, was presented by Alaska Airlines to the FAA prior to 1996. Testimony from an FAA inspector regarding an extension granted in 1996 was that Alaska Airlines submitted documentation from McDonnell Douglas as justification for their extension. End-play checks were conducted during a periodic comprehensive airframe overhaul process called

4200-438: The jackscrew was found to have metallic filaments wrapped around it which were later determined to be the remains of the acme nut thread. The later analysis estimated that 90% of the thread in the acme nut had already worn away previously and that it had finally stripped out during the flight while en route to San Francisco. Once the thread had failed, the horizontal stabilizer assembly was subjected to aerodynamic forces that it

4284-431: The jet and I'd like to do that out here over the bay if I may." Later, during the public hearings into the accident, the request by the pilot not to fly over populated areas was mentioned. During this time, the flight crew considered, and rejected, any further attempts to correct the runaway trim. They descended to a lower altitude and started to configure the aircraft for landing at LAX. Beginning at 16:19 (00:19 UTC),

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4368-466: The libel suit by paying about $ 500,000; as part of the settlement, Liotine resigned. In addition to the probable cause, the NTSB found these contributing factors: During the course of the investigation, and later in its final report, the NTSB issued 24 safety recommendations, covering maintenance, regulatory oversight, and aircraft design issues. More than half of these were directly related to jackscrew lubrication and end-play measurement. Also included

4452-497: The loads placed on it; therefore, the effects of catastrophic failure of this system were not considered, and no " fail-safe " provisions were needed. For this design component to be approved (" certified ") by the FAA without any fail-safe provision, a failure had to be considered "extremely improbable". This was defined as "having a probability on the order of 1 × 10 or less each flight hour". The accident showed that certain wear mechanisms could affect both sets of threads and that

4536-481: The lubrication, the task was shown to take about one hour, whereas the aircraft manufacturer estimated the task should take four hours. This and other evidence suggested to the NTSB that "the SFO mechanic who was responsible for lubricating the jackscrew assembly in September 1999 did not adequately perform the task." Laboratory tests indicated that the excessive wear of the jackscrew assembly could not have accumulated in just

4620-420: The managers, mechanics, inspectors, supervisors, or FAA overseers whose job it was to protect this mechanism done their job conscientiously, this accident cannot happen ... NTSB has made several specific maintenance recommendations, some already accomplished, that will, if followed, prevent the recurrence of this particular accident. But maintenance, poorly done, will find a way to bite somewhere else. After

4704-405: The passengers, one was Mexican and one was British, with all others being U.S. citizens. At least 35 occupants of Flight 261 were connected in some manner with Alaska Airlines or its sister carrier Horizon Air , including 12 people directly employed by the company. As is common practice among airlines, employees can sit in seats that would otherwise have been left empty. Employees can also grant

4788-485: The period between both jackscrew lubrication and end-play checks, with the approval of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Since each lubrication or end-play check subsequently not conducted had represented an opportunity to adequately lubricate the jackscrew or detect excessive wear, the NTSB examined the justification of these extensions. In the case of extended lubrication intervals,

4872-655: The plane, both pilots were posthumously awarded the Air Line Pilots Association Gold Medal for Heroism. The aircraft involved in the accident was a McDonnell Douglas MD-83, serial number 53077, and registered as N963AS. The MD-83 was a longer-range version of the original MD-80 (itself an improved version of the DC-9) with higher weight allowances, increased fuel capacity, and more powerful Pratt & Whitney JT8D-219 engines. The aircraft had logged 26,584 flight hours and 14,315 cycles since it

4956-416: The plane. The crew of a SkyWest airliner reported, "He's, uh, definitely out of control." Although the CVR captured the co-pilot saying " mayday ", no radio communications were received from the flight crew during the final event. The CVR transcript reveals the pilots' constant attempts for the duration of the dive to regain control of the aircraft. After the jackscrew failed, the plane pitched -70° and

5040-641: The population) lived in households, 869 (4.0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 7,080 households, out of which 2,832 (40.0%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 3,267 (46.1%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,121 (15.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 440 (6.2%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 458 (6.5%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships , and 53 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships . 1,760 households (24.9%) were made up of individuals, and 775 (10.9%) had someone living alone who

5124-435: The population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 11,107 people (51.1%) lived in rental housing units. As of the census of 2000, there were 21,845 people, 7,268 households, and 5,000 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,912.9 inhabitants per square mile (1,896.9/km ). There were 7,908 housing units at an average density of 1,778.5 units per square mile (686.7 units/km ). The racial makeup of

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5208-486: The port. In 2014, the beach at Port Hueneme had been eroding for the 60 years since it was built as a commercial port, with jetties that block the natural flow of sand. After the US Navy took over the port during World War II, the government had the responsibility to put back the sand that had disappeared. Funds were lacking until 2013 when it was announced that nearly $ 12 million in funding would be available to replenish

5292-425: The previously identified deficiencies. However, several factors led the board to question "the depth and effectiveness of Alaska Airlines corrective actions" and "the overall adequacy of Alaska Airlines' maintenance program." Systemic problems were identified by the investigation into the FAA's oversight of maintenance programs including inadequate staffing, its approval process of maintenance interval extensions, and

5376-469: The primary trim system to unjam the stuck horizontal stabilizer. Upon being freed, however, it quickly moved to an extreme "nose-down" position, forcing the aircraft into an almost vertical nosedive. The plane dropped from about 31,500 ft (9,600 m) to between 23,000 and 24,000 ft (7,000 and 7,300 m) in around 80 seconds. Both pilots struggled together to regain control of the aircraft, and only by pulling with 130 to 140 lb (580 to 620 N) on

5460-566: The same Seattle neighborhood of Queen Anne. The park's playground was named "Rachel's Playground", in memory of six-year-old Rachel Pearson, who was on board the MD-83 and who was often seen playing at the park. Two victims were falsely named in paternity suits as the fathers of children in Guatemala in an attempt to gain insurance and settlement money. Subsequent DNA testing proved these claims to be false. The crash has appeared in various advance-fee fraud ("419") email scams , in which

5544-481: The same privilege to their family members or friends. Bouquets of flowers started arriving at the company's headquarters in SeaTac, Washington , the day after the crash. Alaska Airlines Flight 261 departed from Puerto Vallarta's Licenciado Gustavo Díaz Ordaz International Airport at 13:37 PST (21:37 UTC ), and climbed to its intended cruising altitude of flight level  310 (31,000 feet or 9,400 m). The plane

5628-454: The sand at the beach, the money coming from various branches of the government. Furthermore, there is a continuing, expensive routine to prevent ocean water from sitting on the city streets. Since 1998, the city of Port Hueneme holds an annual theme-based beach festival at 550 East Surfside Drive. This 2-day event is held in mid/late August. Entertainment includes live music, rides, games, attractions, food/ vendor booths and exhibits. Prior to

5712-518: The total amount to be in excess of US$ 300 million, covered entirely by insurance. According to other sources, the individual settlements were "anywhere from a couple million dollars up to $ 20 million", purportedly "among the largest ever in an air disaster". Candy Hatcher of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer wrote: "Many lost faith in Alaska Airlines, a homegrown company that had taken pride in its safety record and billed itself as

5796-688: The wear might not be detected. The NTSB determined that the design of "the horizontal stabilizer jackscrew assembly did not account for the loss of the acme-nut threads as a catastrophic single-point failure mode". In 2001, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA ) recognized the risk to its hardware (such as the Space Shuttle ) attendant upon the use of similar jackscrews. An engineering fix developed by engineers of NASA and United Space Alliance promised to make progressive failures easy to see and thus complete failures of

5880-468: The western portion of Washington, "had never before experienced such a loss from a plane crash". Both Boeing (who had acquired McDonnell Douglas through a merger in 1997) and Alaska Airlines eventually accepted liability for the crash, and all but one of the lawsuits brought by surviving family members were settled out of court before going to trial. While the financial terms of settlements had not been officially disclosed, The Seattle Times reported

5964-409: Was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $ 42,246, and the median income for a family was $ 46,056. Males had a median income of $ 30,314 versus $ 25,703 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 17,311. About 9.8% of families and 12.2% of the population were below

6048-419: Was 31.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.1 males. There were 8,131 housing units at an average density of 1,741.0 units per square mile (672.2 units/km ), of which 3,422 (48.3%) were owner-occupied, and 3,658 (51.7%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.0%. 9,747 people (44.9% of

6132-418: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95. There were 4,828 families (68.2% of all households); the average family size was 3.52. The population was spread out, with 5,781 people (26.6%) under the age of 18, 2,705 people (12.5%) aged 18 to 24, 6,258 people (28.8%) aged 25 to 44, 4,593 people (21.1%) aged 45 to 64, and 2,386 people (11.0%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age

6216-410: Was a recommendation that pilots were to be instructed that in the event of a flight-control system malfunction, they should not attempt corrective procedures beyond those specified in the checklist procedures, and in particular, in the event of a horizontal stabilizer trim-control system malfunction, the primary and alternate trim motors should not be activated, and if unable to correct the problem through

6300-401: Was constructed from case-hardened steel and is 22 in (56 cm) long and 1.5 in (3.8 cm) in diameter. The acme nut was constructed from a softer copper alloy containing aluminum, nickel, and bronze. As the jackscrew rotates, it moves up or down through the (fixed) acme nut, and this linear motion moves the horizontal stabilizer for the trim system. Upon subsequent examination,

6384-553: Was delivered in 1992. The pilots of Flight 261 were both highly experienced. Captain Ted Thompson, 53, had accrued 17,750 flight hours, and had more than 4,000 hours experience flying MD-80s. First Officer William "Bill" Tansky, 57, had accumulated 8,140 hours as first officer on the MD-80. Thompson had flown for Alaska Airlines for 18 years and Tansky for 15; neither pilot had been involved in an accident or incident prior to

6468-415: Was destroyed by the impact forces, and all occupants on board were killed by blunt-force impact trauma . The USS Cleveland (LPD-7) assisted in recovery operations. Using side-scan sonar , remotely operated vehicles , and a commercial fishing trawler, workers recovered about 85% of the fuselage (including the tail section) and a majority of the wing components. In addition, both engines, as well as

6552-407: Was not designed to withstand, leading to the complete failure of the stabilizer assembly. Based on the time since the last inspection of the jackscrew assembly, the NTSB determined that the acme nut thread had deteriorated at 0.012 inches (0.30 mm) per 1,000 flight hours, much faster than the expected wear of 0.001 inches (0.025 mm) per 1,000 flight‑hours. Over the course of the investigation,

6636-599: Was not, supported by adequate technical data to demonstrate that the extension would not present a potential hazard." A special inspection conducted by the NTSB in April 2000 of Alaska Airlines uncovered widespread significant deficiencies that "the FAA should have uncovered earlier." The investigation concluded, "FAA surveillance of Alaska Airlines had been deficient for at least several years." The NTSB noted that in July 2001, an FAA panel determined that Alaska Airlines had corrected

6720-539: Was officially changed to Port Hueneme in 1939 and was incorporated March 24, 1948. In July 2021, the city council approved starting the process to change the city name to Hueneme Beach. During the adoption of the strategic plan in October 2020, staff recommended rebranding the city as a way to attract tourism, bring new businesses, and draw attention to the city's coastline. The initiative was voted down in November 2022. Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo explored this area and

6804-412: Was prudent and appropriate", "Alaska Airlines dispatch personnel appear to have attempted to influence the flight crew to continue to San Francisco   ... instead of diverting to Los Angeles". Cockpit voice recorder (CVR) transcripts indicate that the dispatcher was concerned about the effect on the schedule ("flow"), should the flight divert. At 16:09 (00:09 UTC), the flight crew successfully used

6888-399: Was rolling over to the left. Performing an upset recovery maneuver, the captain commanded to "push and roll, push and roll," managing to increase the pitch to -28°, he stated, "ok, we are inverted...and now we gotta get it." Over the next minute, completely inverted and still diving at a -9 degree pitch, the crew struggled to roll the plane, with the captain calling to "push push push...push

6972-459: Was scheduled to land at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) less than 4 hours later. Sometime before 15:49 (23:49 UTC), the flight crew contacted the airline's dispatch and maintenance-control facilities in SeaTac, Washington, on a company radio frequency shared with operations and maintenance facilities at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) , to discuss a jammed horizontal stabilizer and

7056-403: Was the first in the county to allow cannabis lounges in 2022, which opened in 2023. Five percent of gross revenues from these businesses is collected by the city per agreements that allow them to operate in the city. This has helped with a deficit city budget. The city was able to produce a balanced budget without dipping into reserves in 2019 for the first time in many years partially due to

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