NPR's Mary Ann Akers reports from the crash investigation headquarters. Alaska Airlines Flight 261. Flight and crew. JOHN HAMMERSCHMIDT, NTSB: Well, the next stage in terms of the U.S. Navy's work at the accident site is to begin the process of the detailed mapping of the wreckage area and that will begin at some point soon. DAVIS: The mother of Blake and Cori is also a close friend. ''Yeah, no, it went down, it went to full nose down,'' the captain said. Maybe that's what Jeff would like to believe his parents did, but his conviction is purely one of faith. A lot of people met Jesus that day through my mom." -- 4:20:04 -- Thompson (probably referring to the control stick): Push, push, push, push. EMILY FOWLER, FAMILY BABYSITTER: They bought me a ticket and then it turns out that I had a final, a Spanish final, so I wasn't able to go. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: The painstaking probe into what went wrong with Alaska Airlines Flight 261 tops our look at "THE WORLD TODAY." Witnesses saw Alaska airliner nosedive - UPI Archives 1: The first conversations recorded on the CVR (cockpit voice recorder) involve communications between the flight crew and Alaska Airlines maintenance facility personnel in Seattle regarding the stabilizer trim system of the aircraft. Alaska Airlines Flight 261 was an Alaska Airlines flight of a McDonnell Douglas MD-83 plane that crashed into the Pacific Ocean on January 31, 2000, roughly 2.7 miles (4.3 km; . Witnesses added little today to what had already been known about the crash. I don't think we should if it can fly, its like---1619:01 CAM-1 it's on the stop now, its on the stop.1619:04 CAM-2 well not according to that its not.1619:07 CAM-2 the trim might be, and then it might be uh, if something's popped back there---1619:11 CAM-1 yea.1619:11 CAM-2 ---it might be * mechanical damage too.1619:14 CAM-2 I think if it's controllable, we oughta just try to land it---1619:16 CAM-1 you think so? and we generally need a block altitude.1616:45 LAX-CTR2 ok and just um I tell you what do that for now sir, and contact L A center on one three five point five they'll have further uhh instructions for you sir.1616:56.9 RDO-2 ok thirty five five say the altimeter setting?1616:59 LAX-CTR2 the L A altimeter is three zero one eight.1617:01 CAM-1 I need everything picked up---1617:02 RDO-2 thank you.1617:02 CAM-1 ---and everybody strapped down---1617:04 CAM-3 ok.1617:04 CAM-1 ---cause I'm gonna unload the airplane and see if we can---1617:06 CAM-3 ok.1617:07 CAM-1 ---we can regain control of it that way.1617:09 CAM-3 ok we had like a big bang back there---1617:11 CAM-1 yea I heard it---1617:12 CAM-3 ok.1617:12 CAM-1 ---the stab trim I think it---1617:13 CAM-2 you heard it in the back?1617:13 CAM-3 yea.1617:14 CAM-2 yea.1617:15 CAM-3 so---1617:15 CAM-1 I think the stab trim thing is broke---1617:17 CAM-3 ---I didn't wanna call you guys but---1617:18 CAM-1 no no that's good.1617:20 CAM-3 ---that girl, they're like you better go up there---1617:21 CAM-1 I need you everybody strapped in now, dear.1617:22 CAM-3 ---and tell them.1617:23 CAM-3 ok.1617:24 CAM-1 cause I'm gonna I'm going to release the back pressure and see if I can get it back.1617:30 CAM [sound similar to cockpit door operating]1617:33 CAM-2 three zero one eight.1617:37 CAM-1 I'll get it here.1617:40 CAM-2 I don't think you want any more speedbrakes do you?1617:42 CAM-1 uhh no. The pilot also reported that the flight data recorder from the plane indicates that there is no good explanation for how the plane was able to stay in the air for those final 9 minutes. advise on initial contact, you have information mike. Real free hookup sites that work. Two faint thumps are heard on the tape and the plane goes into a steep dive from 31,000 feet to 24,000 feet that exceeds the plane's maximum allowable airspeed of 343 knots. Here We GoWith just under four minutes left on the recording, aflight attendant comes to the cockpit to report a big bangback there. Thompson says he heard it too. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for theflight, which operated on an instrument flight rules flight plan. -- 4:20:16 -- Thompson: OK, now let's kick rudder, left rudder, left rudder. ''Folks, we have had a flight control problem up front here,'' one said over the public address system. "We're flying . It was really tough there for a while. "My adrenaline's going," the captain said, relieved. we are comin in to see you and I've misplaced the paperwork here.1603:23 CAM-2 there it is.1603:35 CAM-1 I can't read your writing can you read her the uh zero fuel weight---1603:40 CAM-2 yea.1603:41 CAM-1 ---and all those numbers and CG.1603:43 LAX-OPS L A operations from two six to two six one.1603:48 CAM-2 I got it.1603:48.5 RDO-2 uhhh two sixty one do you need our uh, our numbers?1603:52 LAX-OPS yea we just wanna advise that we do not have landing rights as yet.1603:56 RDO-2 here's our numbers we had uh ten in first class, seventy in coach, zero fuel weight one zero two one one zero point one fuel on board thirty four point niner take off weight onethirty six five one one point eight, CG eleven point eight.1604:19 LAX-OPS OK I got ten and seventy Z fuel weight one zero two one one zero point one, fuel on board thirty four decimal nine take off weight five one one decimal eight and a CG ofeleven decimal eight.1604:32 RDO-2 yea uh take off one three six five one one point eight and uh CG one one point eight. RDO Radio transmission from accident aircraft, Alaska 261CAM Cockpit area microphone voice or sound sourcePA Voice or sound heard on the public address system channel.HOT Hot microphone voice or sound source1For RDO, CAM, HOT, and PA comments:-1 Voice identified as the Captain-2 Voice identified as the First Officer-3 Voice identified as a Flight Attendant-? As the captain spoke, the plane was accelerating downward so fast that the two pilots and 86 other people on board were pressed upward -- in this case, into their seats, because the plane was upside down -- at forces that reached three times the normal force of gravity. Twelve minutes before the crash, the situation rapidly turns into a crisis as the stabilizer goes into a full-nose down position after the captain refers to moving a switch. The pilots make two attempts to extend the slats and flapsto slow the plane for landing but with under two minutes of therecording left, a faint thump is followed by a loud noise. The crew of that plane also reported problems with the stabilizer trim. She so easily could have been on that plane and I'm so grateful that she wasn't. Air Moorea Flight 1121 - Wikipedia We're burning candles kind of around the clock. Alaska Airlines Flight 261 was an international passenger flight from Puerto Vallarta to a stopover in San Francisco International Airport, to its destination in Seattle-Tacoma International Airport which suffered a serious mechanical failure on January 31, 2000, while flying over the Pacific Ocean, 4.3 km north of Anacapa Island in California.The two pilots, three flight attendants and the . The cockpit voice recorder from the downed Alaska Airlines Flight 261 is held by the robotic arm of the remotely piloted vehicle SCORPIO on the deck of the MV Kellie Chouest off the coast of . But so far, the controls in the MD-80s tail have become suspect in the accident. we're flyin we're flyin tell 'em what we're doin.1620:33 CAM-2 oh yea let me get *1620:35 CAM-1 *1620:38 CAM-1 gotta get it over again at least upside down we're flyin.1620:40.6 PA [sound similar to CVR startup tone]1620:42 CAM-? -- 4:19:36 -- Sound of extremely loud noise in cockpit, increase in background noise, sound of loose articles moving around in cockpit. Sources: 26 May 2000 (p. B1). Reuters. They meant a lot to my family and to me, and I loved Miles and I loved the baby. Database; Description; Contact Search the site. "We've lost vertical control of our airplane," Thompson tells air controllers before leveling out. 2023 www.recordonline.com. On 30 August1 September, the tail fin, including the control surfaces and the elevator control systems, the engines, and the cockpit were recovered. DAVIS: Emily and her mom are glad to have one another as they grieve for the lives lost on Flight 261. A transcript of the cockpit voice recorder showed that the pilots . All rights reserved. The airliner bound from Mexico to San Francisco went out of control and plunged into the Pacific Ocean near Los Angeles on Jan. 31, killing all 88 aboard. ROCHELLE: Key among the pieces of wreckage are the tail assembly containing the stabilizer trim assembly and the cockpit area where the switches are -- that are activating it are located. The cockpit voice recorder, more commonly called a black box, was located and brought aboard the ship following an . THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. 31 January 2000 - Alaska Airlines 261. Capt. "The Bright Shining Lie of Flight 261." "Are we flying?" The sole survivor was a 4-year-old girl who sustained serious injuries. Alaska Airlines Flight 261 - Wikipedia The crash occurred on Jan. 31 as the crew tried an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport. More information about the crash:https://bit.ly/3aENWyx (final report)https://bit.ly/3ruWZZO (wiki) Instagram/Business enquiries:mailtecnat@gmail.comhttp. A few months after the tragedy, Jeff told an Associated Press reporter that his mother would have been "standing in the aisle of the struggling jet, preaching and helping frightened people find God," while his father would have "been writing a note" to his two children (Jeff and 16-year-old sister Jenny) and his daughter-in-law (Jeff's wife). TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com. 2000-12-13 04:00:00 PDT Washington -- The words of the cockpit crew in the final minutes of Alaska Airlines Flight 261 will be released today as the National Transportation Safety . Alaska Airlines Flight 261; N963AS, the Alaska Airlines MD-83 aircraft involved in the accident seen in 1992. The cockpit voice recorder, more commonly called a black box, was located and brought aboard the ship following an 84-minute search by SCORPIO, a tethered unmanned work vehicle from the Navy's Deep Submergence Unit Unmanned Vehicle Detachment. I mean it was just it was I mean he had all the reasons to do it, I stated concern about flying overflying a suitable airport---1601:15 CAM-2 yea.1601:16 CAM-1 ---but I was listening, then when he gives me the wind, its it's the wind was a ninety degree cross at ten knots. The cockpit voice recorder, more commonly called a black box, was located and brought aboard the ship following an 84-minute search by SCORPIO, a tethered unmanned work vehicle from the Navy's Deep Submergence Unit Unmanned Vehicle Detachment. The mechanics said they would check. Thompson took a moment to reassure the passengers that the crew was trying to solve a "flight control problem" and would try to land in Los Angeles. But it did stay in the air until the pastor's wife had a chance to share the Gospel with the very attentive passengers and presumably lead many to salvation in Christ. Alaska Airlines Flight 261: Cockpit Voice Recorder Reveals Crew Fighting Problem With Stabilizer Trim; Relatives Mourn Loss of Victims Aired February 3, 2000 - 8:01 p.m. '', See the article in its original context from. File:AS261airplane animation 261.ogv - Wikimedia Commons On January 31st, 2000, Alaska Airlines Flight 261 suddenly nosedived into the Pacific Ocean and the crash had deadly implications. Transcripts of Doomed Alaska Flight / Voices of Doom on Alaska Air No passenger-led prayer appears on the tape. The jet's flight data recorder, recovered this afternoon, should provide even more clues.