All language subtitles for Air Disasters S17E05 Pacific Plunge 1080p PMTP WEB-DL AAC2 0 H 264_track3_[eng]

Stabilizer motion.

Help me back.

Okay.

The pilots
of Alaska Airlines,

flight 261, wrestle with
an M.D. 83 nosediving

toward the Pacific Ocean.

We got it
under control, here.

No, we don't.

The airplane pitched
down and rolled.

Mayday!

It actually gets
inverted, upside down.

Amazingly,
the pilots managed

to keep the aircraft flying.

This is like an
air show maneuver.

Speed brakes.

Just seconds
from impact, the pilots

right their aircraft.

They had one shot
to save the plane,

are all would be lost.

Here we go!

Mayday, mayday!

Alaska Airlines,
flight 261, takes flight.

Climbing into sunny skies
over Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

You're up.

Gears' up.

Captain Ted Thompson
is an Air Force veteran.

He's flown with Alaska
Airlines for 17 years.

Thank you, sir.

First Officer
Bill Tansky has been

flying for almost four decades.

He's the one flying, today.

The pilots on 261

were highly regarded
by their fellow pilots

these were really
top notch aviators

Flaps up

Flaps.

The M.D. 83 is
flying North to San Francisco,

for a stopover.

From there, it's a short hop
to its final destination,

Seattle, Washington.

Three flight attendants tend
to the 83 passengers on board.

Fifteen minutes after takeoff

That's strange.

The pilots
become aware of a problem.

Planes out a trim.

Trim refers
to small adjustments

to the horizontal
stabilizer that maintains

the pitch of the aircraft.

When that light goes on,
it tells the crew

you're going to have a problem
adjusting the nose up or down,

which is of course,
crucial for flight.

The Warning light indicates

the horizontal
stabilizer is jammed,

pushing the nose down slightly.

Let's check this out.

Autopilot off.

Good idea.

-Whoa.
-What's it doing?

It's pushing down.

First Officer Tansky
uses all his physical strength

to keep the plane's nose on.

The first officer
is hand flying the airplane.

So he's manually got his
hands on the control yoke.

And increasingly, there's
more and more pressure

that he's having to hold.

He's using a lot of arm muscle.

So this is something
that they want to fix.

Yeah, well we're still
climbing, that's good.

Let's get to 3-1-0
Let's figure this out.

By pulling back
on the control column,

the pilots can
deflect the plane's

elevators enough to enable the
aircraft to continue climbing.

Twenty minutes after takeoff,

flight 261 levels
off at 31,000 feet.

Manual says to try
the pickle switch.

Pickle switches are
literally just

a little toggle switch
on the control column.

And it moves the
horizontal stabilizer,

such that it will push
the nose up or down.

Controls in
the cockpit activated

a two foot jack screw
in the tail.

As the Jack screw turns,

it moves
the stabilizer up or down.

They were having to
go through the manuals,

and they were asking
each other, "What do you know?

What can we do?
What can we try?"

Nothing, why don't you try.

Captain Thompson
tries to activate

the horizontal stabilizer,
using what pilots call,

the suitcase handles.

No dice.

It's like trying
to start your car.

They were trying everything
they could think of

to get their plane to respond.

Let's try it on autopilot.

They hope the autopilot

can keep the plane level.

The plane is steady.

I'm thinking we get this
plane on the ground sooner,

rather than later.

Yep, maybe LAX?

Call dispatch.

If you have
a control problem,

you have to get
that plane on the ground.

Dispatch 261, requesting
a diversion to LAX.

Are longitudinal trim
system is inoperative.

Captain Thompson
contacts Alaska Airlines

flight dispatcher, in Seattle.

Dispatch 261, copy that.

If you want to land in LA,
for safety reasons

we'll be looking
at over an hour delay

because of a flow
problem right now.

I didn't really want
to hear about the flow,

I'm concerned about
suitable airports.

Do you have a wind at LAX?

It's two, six, zero, at nine.

The pilots compare
the wind conditions

at Los Angeles and
San Francisco airports.

The pilots on this flight
took such care considering

all their options on runways.

There's a headwind at LAX,

but at San Francisco,
there's a crosswind.

Two six at nine versus
a direct crosswind,

for safety reasons,
I think...

something that lowers
the ground speed makes sense.

The headwind at LAX

will help make it
a safer landing.

Once you're lined up
for the LAX runway,

you've got perfect winds

coming right at your nose.

It blows off
the Pacific Ocean,

it's predictable,
it's constant,

and it slows down your plane.

You the guys with the
horizontal situation?

Ten minutes
after rerouting,

a mechanic at Alaska Airlines
maintenance facility

in Los Angeles
contacts the crew.

Yeah, affirmative.

The maintenance facility can
talk directly to the pilots

to provide them the
expertise on the problem

that they're dealing with.

Did you try the suitcase
and pickle switches?

Yeah, we tried just
about everything.

If you've got any
hidden circuit breakers,

we'd love
to know about them.

Yeah, I'll look into
the circuit breaker guide,

as a double check.

And the alternates in
operative two, huh?

Yep, our horizontal
stabilizer appears

to be jammed,
the whole thing.

Okay, Thank you, sir.

I'll see you
when you get to LAX.

The response from
Alaska Airlines maintenance

was basically
no response, at all.

They provided them no help.

Really, the most
they ever said to them,

did you try the pickle switches
and the suitcase handles?

Which is one of the first
things that they did.

All right,
let's, uh,

let's try the
pickle switches, again.

You got it?

The captain is warning the
first officer, as a reminder,

when we click the
autopilot off, be ready,

because it's going to require

a lot of effort from you,
right then.

Yeah, so click
the autopilot off.

Stabilizer motion,

stabilizer motion.

The nose of the plane drops,

far more than
the pilots anticipated.

Holy crap.

The airplane is
pitched down, significantly.

And the air frame
is shaking, violently.

They know something
is very, desperately,

wrong with the airplane.

The problem
is suddenly, much worse.

Flight 261 begins to nosedive.

What are you doing?

It got worse.

They have to get
the nose back up,

or they'll have an
unarrested descent

all the way to the ocean.

Help me back.

Help me back.

Okay.

The crew of
Alaska Airlines, flight 261,

struggles to regain control
of their M.D. 83.

They pulled back
on the control yoke,

holding a lot of force.

Center Alaska, 261,

we are in a dive, here.

I've lost control
of vertical pitch.

Alaska 261, say again, sir.

We are in a vertical dive,
at 26,000.

They are now
three minutes from impact.

Speed brakes!

The pilots
deploy the speed brakes,

control surfaces
on the wings of the plane,

that increase drag.

And he wanted
to slow the plane down,

and it would also give them
more of a chance, physically,

to pull the plane
out of the dive.

The speed brakes
arrest the dive.

Using all their strength,

the pilots bring
the aircraft

back under control
at 24,000 feet.

All right, once we
get this speed slowed,

maybe we'll be okay.

In 80 seconds,

the plane has dropped
8,000 feet.

The pilots pulled
out of the dive

with pure, brute force.

I got it back

under control, here.

No, we don't.

Even though they've managed

to pull out of the dive,
it requires extreme effort

to keep the nose
of the plane level.

Okay, it really
wants to pitch down.

They're really having
to work, physically,

at holding the nose up
on this jet.

They're in a fight for
control of the airplane.

It's a lot worse than it was.

Yeah, we are in
much worse shape, now.

This is a very
experienced crew,

these aviators have had
problems in flights before,

but nothing like this.

Maintenance 261, are you on?

Twenty two miles
from Los Angeles,

Captain Thompson updates
Alaska Airlines maintenance,

hoping hope advice
on how to land, safely.

Yeah, 261, this
is maintenance.

Yeah, we've tried
both the pickle switch

on the suitcase handles, and it
ran away, full nose trim down.

Oh, it ran away full trim?

And now we're
worse than we were.

He's explaining
that when he commanded

"nose up trim,"

the trim system moved nose
down,

moved in opposite direction
of the way he commanded it.

And it did so very quickly,

and it did so
with a lot of force.

And you're getting
full nose trim down,

and no nose trim up, correct?

That's affirmative.

We went full nose down.

And now I'm afraid
to try it again

to see if we can get it to go
back in the other direction.

He is reluctant
to try to move it again,

for the concern
that if it gets worse yet,

that they could lose control
of the airplane, entirely.

If you want to try it,
that's okay with me.

If not, that's fine,

see you at the gate.

After the maintenance
base, at LAX, said,

"Oh, we'll see you
at the gate,"

the pilots knew they
were on their own.

All they had left was,
they had themselves,

their physical strength,
and their wits.

To land the plane,
the pilots need to figure out

how to control their descent,

without using
the plane's trim system.

You want to try the
trim switch again, or not?

Uh...

No. I don't know.

It's up to you, man.

They're literally test pilots,

and they're having to utilize
decades of experience

to try to work their way
through to a solution.

We better talk to
the people back there.

Yeah, I know.

Captain Thompson

tries to reassure
the passengers.

Folks, we've had
a flight control problem.

We're intending
to go to Los Angeles.

We're working on it,
and I don't anticipate

any problems once
we get a couple

systems back on the line.

With Los Angeles in sight,

the pilots prepare for
an emergency landing.

You try flaps, 15, 11?

Let's go to 11.

The pilots test the plane

in a landing configuration.

Okay, we're pretty
stable, here.

But we got to
get down to 180 knots.

The jet
is very badly damaged,

and they need to understand

and find a way to control
the pitch of the jet,

all the way through
the landing.

If it's controllable, we ought
to just try and land it.

First Officer Tansky
suggests a risky,

high speed landing.

Okay, let's head for LA.

Their predicament was dire.

They would not be able
to pull the plane up,

and do a go around.

The only chance they had
was one shot

to get it on the ground,
or all would be lost.

But as soon
as they come up with a plan...

Do you feel that?

Yeah.

...the pilots hear thumps

at the back of the plane,

then disaster strikes.

The airplane
pitched down in roll,

they know that they are in
a life threatening situation.

This is a pilot's nightmare.

You're running out of time,

if they do not control
the jet very quickly,

they'll lose the airplane.

Mayday!

Push and roll!

Push and roll!

18,000 feet
above the Pacific Ocean,

flight 261 rolls left,
and goes into a dive.

And this is like
an air show maneuver.

The Blue Angels do this,
the Thunderbirds do this.

Dropping at
160 feet per second,

time is running out.

Okay, we are inverted,

now we got to get it up.

When the airplane
was inverted,

this is a very
difficult situation,

because they've
got to try to determine

if they can
maintain control of it

and get the airplane back,
right side up.

The plane starts responding.

They're pushed on
the control column to prevent

the possibility of the stall.

And then they roll the
airplane toward wings level,

in an attempt to
maintain control of it.

Push the blue side up.

The top side of
an attitude indicator is blue,

like the sky.

And so, they need
to get the blue side

of the attitude indicator,
back on the top.

On the ground,

LAX controllers have lost
contact with flight 261.

SkyWest 5154, traffic at your
one o'clock, is Alaska M.D. 80.

Do you see him up there?

They look for
help from other pilots.

Yes, sir.

Definitely in a
nose down position.

Descending quite rapidly,
he's inverted.

Okay, keep your eye on them.

Alaska 261, are you
with us yet, sir?

13,000 feet
over the ocean,

the pilot's efforts
seem to pay off.

The plane's nose
starts to rise,

but it's still inverted.

Okay, let's kick rudder.

Left rudder, left rudder.

The pilots are, kind of,
hanging upside down like bats.

And it was very difficult
to reach the rudder pedal.

-Left rudder!
-I can't reach it.

-Okay, right rudder.
-Right rudder!

There one hope is if they
could kick that rudder,

they could flip
the pain back over.

Okay,

we got to get it over, again.

At least upside down,
we're flying.

As the pilots fight
to get the plane

the right way up,

the engines on flight 261 fail.

There was a disruption
in the airflow into the engines

and it caused a loss of thrust.

Speed brakes!

Got it.

Their demeanor was
determined, collected,

they were giving
everything they had.

The windscreens
full of the ocean,

they're not going to
solve this.

Here we go!

He's hit the water,
he's down.

Search and
rescue helicopters

are immediately dispatched
from Coast Guard stations.

Search teams find debris,
floating 2.7 miles North

of Anacapa Island,

off the coast of California.

In addition
to pieces of the plane,

searchers are finding
personal effects,

a shoe, a passport, a postcard.

Aviation safety
advocate, Mary Schiavo,

represents the families of
six passengers from flight 261.

I remember this
person's possessions,

all the pictures were
still in the wallet,

in the pants pocket.

Except for the
picture of his wife.

And so, we knew, by that,

and by how they found things,
that he had been clutching.

That was really
important to her.

Rescuers search for
survivors throughout the night,

none are found.

All 88 passengers
and crew on board flight 261,

are dead.

It's a terrible,
tragic thing, of course.

But, you know,
we have a real well,

established procedure
here for how

these tragedies are handled.

Investigators from the NTSB,

the National Transportation
Safety Board,

are assigned to find
an explanation for the crash.

LAX maintenance
is saying the pilots

reported a jam stabilizer.

NTSB systems
investigator, Jeff Guzzetti,

joins the investigation.

We knew quite a lot,
just from the transmissions

between the flight crew
and Los Angeles.

Maybe they had a
mechanical problem.

It looks like they tried
both switches, no luck.

The plane pitched,
full for nose trim down.

We immediately
began to research

the horizontal
stabilizer trim system,

to see how it was designed,
how it functioned,

and how the crew
operated it, normally.

The leading edge
of the horizontal stabilizer

is raised or lowered
by a jacks screw.

When activated, it moves up
or down through an acme nut,

changing the angle of
the horizontal stabilizer.

We need to see the
jack screw assembly.

Let's hope it's
all in one piece.

Investigators wonder
how the horizontal trim system

could have failed.

I'll get this to the Navy.

Recovering parts
of the stabilizer system

could give investigators
important clues.

But the wreckage field lies
on the bottom of the ocean,

at a depth of 700 feet,

well beyond the reach
of scuba divers.

We were able to tell
the Navy what to look for,

what the high priority
targets were.

US Navy crews use
side scan sonar

to pinpoint the location
of the wreckage.

Remotely operated vehicles
equipped with robotic arms

are used to recover pieces
of flight 261.

The Black boxes are retrieved
two days after the crash.

Nine days into
the investigation,

essential parts of
the horizontal stabilizer

are also recovered.

We got the jack screw.

And with the brainpower we had,
that we had a fighting chance

to find out exactly what went
wrong, during this flight.

What's this stuff?

Investigators wonder
if recovered parts

from the horizontal stabilizer
of flight 261

can provide clues
about why it failed.

It's some kind of metal.

What they see is puzzling.

We saw this, this little,
thin piece of metal,

that we thought
looked like a slinky.

That really struck us
is something very odd.

Why isn't the nut
attached to the jack screw?

Normally,
the lower end of the jack screw

is threaded through
an acme nut.

When we looked at that,
and the jack screw

wasn't part of
the acme nut,

we asked ourselves,
"How can that happen?"

That really just blew our mind.

The jack screw and the acme
were found a few feet apart.

They must have
separated mid-flight.

Threads an 1/8 of
an inch thick, inside the nut,

should hold it securely
to the jack screw.

Look at this.

There's something
unusual about the nut.

Incredible.

It's completely stripped.

When we finally
looked inside the acme nut,

it revealed that there were
no threads inside of it.

Let's talk to metallurgy.

It was shocking
and stunning to us

to see something like this.

No one thought
that you could get

those thick threads to rip out.

Interesting.

Metallurgist, Joe Epperson,

examines the stripped
nut and the jack screw.

It became immediately apparent

that what we were looking at

was actually the
remainder of the threads

that were inside the nut.

Looks like the
jack screw stripped

the threads of the acme nut.

The next step in the
process was to figure out

how the threads were reduced

to such an extreme degree,

and then stripped
out of the nut.

There's some grease here,
on the bottom.

The team studies residue

observable on the jack screw.

The way to prevent wear
is by lubrication,

with grease,

and in the case of
an extreme wear event,

you want to look at,

is there grease where
it's supposed to be?

And there's some,
here, at the top.

In flight,

the jack screw rotates
inside the nut.

To prevent wear, it needs
to be lubricated regularly.

There should be more grease,
here in the middle.

That's the working area
where it rotates the most.

When we first looked
at the jack screw,

there was very minimal signs

that there was
any grease on it, at all.

It was in the
ocean for a week,

did the water wash
the grease away?

No, I don't think so.

Grease doesn't
wash off that easily.

There's still some
remnants here,

but none in the middle.

We did find a little bit
of a remnant of a grease,

at the very upper end.

And at the very lower end.

It was very easy to conclude
that being in the ocean

had not washed away the grease
from the working area of

of the jack screw.

How could it be
that there so little grease

on this jack screw?

Grease goes through here,
during the lubrication process.

During maintenance,

grease is applied to
the interior of the nut,

through a small valve
called a Zerk fitting.

So the Zerk fitting is
this fitting, right here.

And what mechanics
have to do is

put a grease gun hose in here,

and then squirt grease into
this little grease fitting

that goes inside this passage.

So that Zerk fitting
should have preserved

and kept the remnants of
whatever grease it saw, last.

What's that?

It's packed with dried grease.

I've been around grease
long enough to know

that if you don't replenish it,

and if you just leave it,

eventually it dries up
and gets hard,

and it basically says

that it had not
been replenished.

How long has it been
clogged like this?

At least a year, maybe more.

Finding this blockage suggests
long term abuse to the grease.

I'd say we have a
maintenance issue, here.

Time to talk to the airline.

We were very suspicious

about how well

this component was lubricated.

Or whether it was
lubricated, at all.

And so, we had our doubts
as to whether or not

this component
was being properly

maintained by the airline.

NTSB investigators travel

to the Alaska Airlines
operation facility,

in San Francisco.

You worked on the plane
in September 1999, that true?

Yes, I did.

They tracked down the mechanic

who was responsible for
the last lubrication

of the jack screw assembly,

four months before
the accident.

Could you walk us
through how you lubricate

the jack screw assembly?

I'll tell you this,
it's not my favorite job.

The team learns that
jack screw lubrication are done

most often on the night shift,
outside the hangar,

sometimes in the rain.

You're working
off high lift trucks,

which will sometimes
move with a gust of wind,

the airplane moves
with a gust of wind,

you're up and 30 feet
off the ground,

some mechanics
don't like that job.

They're not stable up there.

To reach
the jack screw assembly,

remove a panel first.

How do you apply the grease?

I use the paint brush, sometimes
I put a big glob in my hand

to make sure it's on there.

Aircraft, especially
large aircraft, need grease.

They need to have lubricants,

and it's messy.

The most effective way

is to fill your hand
with grease

and actually move it up
and down on the jack screw,

filling all the screw grooves,

filling them with grease.

What about greasing
the acme nut?

Investigators focus
on how the mechanic greased

the acme nut on the jack screw.

We use a grease gun
to the Zerk fitting.

And you pump grease in,

until you see
fresh grease coming out.

Well, how do you
know whether the lubrication

is being done properly
and when to stop

pumping the grease gun?

I don't.

Would you be able
to see the grease

coming out from the top of the
acme nut during lubrication?

No, I can't remember
looking to see if there was.

One of the first
things that tells me,

is that he couldn't
have known that Zerk fitting

has taken grease.

You have no idea
that it's clogged.

So we found a variety
of ways in which mechanics

lubricated this component.

And that gave us some pause,

because it's a very
critical component,

and if you don't
lubricate it properly,

you could end up
with an accident

like the one
that just happened.

The team discovers
that the methods Air Alaska

mechanics used to lubricate
the jack screw assembly,

don't follow
maintenance standards.

The last time the
jack screw was lubricated

was about four months
before the accident.

But it's not just the
way that jack screw assembly

is being lubricated
that bothers investigators,

it's also the frequency.

And before that?

January 1999.

They're doing it every...

...2,500 hours.

They can see
there's a long period

between lubrications.

Is that even
within regulations?

I'll find out.

We knew we had, kind of,

a research
project on our hands.

Some of the documents
that we requested

from the manufacturer, from
the FAA, from the airline,

came in the form
of Internal memorandums

from engineering departments

or requests from maintenance

to extend an interval.

It really began
to paint a picture

of how the lubrication
intervals were extended.

Check that out.

The airline made
multiple requests

to extend the intervals
on the lubrications.

In 1987,

the interval
between lubrications

it was 500 hours.

The intervals
between lubrication

are measured by the number of
hours the plane is in the air.

In 1991,

it goes up to 1,200 hours.

By 1996,

increases all the way up

to 2,500 hours.

They just continued to
extend, extend, extend.

Approved by the FAA?

Yeah, every one of
them was approved.

Investigators conclude

that the lubrication
of jack screws

was not only conducted poorly,

it was also performed
less and less frequently.

If you're going to extend
these lubrication functions,

then you better
be doing something

to make sure that what
you're doing is correct.

But even if the lubrication,
wasn't being done properly

regular inspections
should have caught

the wear on that acme nut.

True, they should have
inspected it regularly.

Was the jack screw
assembly on flight 261,

inspected when and how it
should have been?

We looked at the maintenance
records for information

about the last check.

I've got something.

Investigators
dig deeper into the records

of flight 261,

to find out how the jack
screw assembly was inspected.

Yeah, this
doesn't look right to me.

The team finds paperwork,

which reveals that during
a routine inspection,

a mechanic at the
airline's Oakland facility

observed that the
acme nut was badly worn.

You're sure the
reading is 0.040?

A mechanic
who did that wear check,

reported that he found
it to be at the limit.

This nut was wearing fast and
something needed to be done.

The lead mechanic ordered
the nut to be replaced.

This was evidence
that someone had caught

the fact that this
acme nut was worn out.

Most airlines,
the decision would be,

we will get the piece to the
airplane as soon as possible

and replace it.

But the entry is crossed out.

I don't get it.

Well when we saw
that they had

crossed out the first entry,

it was very suspicious.

Something was up.

It was fishy to us.

We have to find out
what went on, here.

Do you remember inspecting an
M.D. 83 on September 27, 1997?

I remember it well.

Investigators
contact John Liotine.

the lead mechanic
who reported the worn acme nut

on flight 261.

I wrote up the evaluation,

the nut is worn down,
replace it.

It was an alarming discovery,

in order for that aircraft
to be safe to fly,

that nut assembly,
at the very least,

must be replaced.

There is no doubt in my mind.

It was the end of my shift.

When I came back
the next work day,

the plane was closed up.

The plane returned to
service with the worn nut.

If the nut
had been replaced,

the plane would still
be flying,

and 88 people
would still be alive.

How could a maintenance
facility allow the airplane

to be put back into
Revenue Service

with the wear

that it found on the acme nut?

When investigators
probed further,

they learn that the amount
of wear on the acme nut

was rechecked by
other mechanics.

They determined that it was
just within minimum limits.

Alaska Airlines maintenance
misses a warning sign.

The wear on the nut should,
at least, have been monitored,

but it wasn't.

The next time that
jack screw was looked at

was in the NTSB laboratory.

The plane flew
with the worn nut

for two more years, before it
took off from Puerto Vallarta,

on the day of the accident.

You're up.

First Officer
Tansky and Captain Thompson,

had no idea that
their stabilizer

was on the verge of failure.

That's strange,
the planes' out of trim.

The team turns
to the voice recorder

to find out how the
devastating chain of events

unfolded on board flight 261.

Let's check this out.

Autopilot off?

Good idea.

Whoa.

13 minutes after
takeoff from Puerto Vallarta,

the worn threads in
the acme nut

caused the jack screw to jam,

preventing movement of
the horizontal stabilizer.

I'll try it, again.

The captain's trying to
rectify the jam stabilizer.

While cruising at 31,000 feet,

the CVR picks up
a sound of a click,

followed by a thump.

We think that the pilot
was moving his thumb switch

on his yoke,
in an attempt to move

the jack screw through the nut.

The threads finally give way,

and the jammed jack screw
pulls up through the nut,

causing the stabilizer
to move upwards,

a stopper is all that prevents
it from separating, completely.

It got worse.

With the horizontal stabilizer

pushing the nose further down,
the plane goes into a dive.

Through sheer brute force,

the pilots hold the
jack screw in place,

and recover the plane.

Okay it really
wants to pitch down.

-
- You feel that?

Stop. Let's hear that again.

But eight minutes later,

there's another
series of thumps.

Do you feel that?

The stopper holding
the jack screw in place,

finally gives out.

Push and roll!

The damage to
the stabilizer makes

flight 261 uncontrollable.

The plane rolls over and
dives toward the ocean.

Push, push, push,
push the blue side up.

Flying upside down,
the crew makes a last ditch

attempt to right their plane.

Speed brakes!

Got it.

The pilots of flight 261

give everything they
have to save the plane.

It was just total,
professional, fighting

for that plane
till the very end.

And they express
the realization

that the fight was over.

Here we go!

I was sickened by what
I listened on the CVR.

This accident could
have been prevented.

They grease that jack screw,

this doesn't happen.

The amount of money,

that would have saved
these lives,

it's a cup of coffee.

It's, literally,
a few dollars of grease.

I still get angry about it.

In the wake of the accident,

the intervals between
jack screw lubrication

at Alaska Airlines
is reduced from 2,500 hours,

to 650 hours.

We lost 88 people

because of lack of lubrication.

This is a maintenance accident,

pure and simple.

It is truly a tragedy.

It was just one of those
cases that you work on,

that's never
going to leave you.

Not ever.

It was tough.