Alaska 261: first there was Flight 222
Hey Jef,
Thanks for copying me on the flight incident. Did you hear back this time? And do I understand that the FAA DID acknowledge that Alaska reported SOME problem on board?
Mike Webb
KIRO Radio
Mike,
Nope, I ain’t heard shit. My pal Casey Corr, a Times editorialist (and striker who has yet to be called back) has passed it on to Chuck Taylor, a Times aerospace reporter and former editor in chief of the Union Record. Maybe Chuck will get interested.
Re the FAA: When I contacted them initially (I think it was in June), their response was something to the effect of, “Alaska filed the bare minimum required, acknowledging there was an incident. No details. That’s all we have, so we really can’t tell you anything more than you already know.” When I pressed for more info, I was essentially blown off, being advised to file a FOIA request “to get more details…that way they have to respond.” The FAA guy also allowed as to how Alaska had a full year to file any additional information. Now that it’s been a full year, I should probably go back and ask what’s in the FAA file. But at this point I would just as soon it were done by a reporter, talk show host or NTSB investigator. Obviously, passengers like me don’t count much at the local FAA or Alaska.
Jef
December 26, 2000
Dear Mr. Wallace
Thank you for you excellent coverage of the NTSB’s Flight 261 hearings. I hope you will find the following of interest, as well.
Coverage of Alaska Airlines’ problems has omitted at least one other recent critical incident that has so far gone unreported.
On January 20th, 2000, 11 days before the Flight 261 disaster, a plane load of Alaska passengers departing Sea-Tac airport thought we were due to be tarmac cinders. Our flight, Alaska 222, was an MD-80 bound for Manzanillo via Los Angeles. As we began to climb during take-off, something literally blew up. We heard several loud bangs from the back of the aircraft, then a few seconds later there were two more, and the plane lurched to the right. One woman passenger screamed in obvious fright, “Oh no!”
A minute passed before the pilot finally announced there was a problem, and we’d have to turn around and make an immediate emergency landing. An extremely distressed flight attendant gave us instructions for assuming the crash position. One passenger took out a marking pen and wrote a farewell message to his girlfriend on a drop-down tray. We all thought we were toast, especially me, when I was asked to come to the rear of the plane to assist the attendants in case the rear emergency door didn’t deploy during the landing procedure.
At no time during the emergency, or any time since, has Alaska Airlines informed us what happened on that flight. No apologies, no explanations, no nothing! I have received no communication from the airline whatsoever, despite 11 months of trying to get answers. The FAA was unable to provide information because (they said) Alaska hadn’t filed any!
What also tears at me is the possibility, however remote, that what happened to my flight could have been related –or, in fact, identical– to Flight 261. When the FAA later reported hearing “two loud bangs from the back of the aircraft” on 261′s cockpit voice recorder, a cold chill went through me. I immediately thought about what happened on Flight 222. Perhaps the tragedy of 261 could have been averted had someone at Alaska been paying attention. Was it the same plane? Was it the same problem? Nobody knows because Alaska hasn’t told us anything! I was scheduled to fly back from Puerto Vallarta. I could have been on Flight 261. As it turns out, my parents *were* flying back from Puerto Vallarta on an Alaska flight at the same time 261 went down. That’s a little too close for my comfort. Worse, I knew people on Flight 261.
Here is my list of unanswered questions for John Kelly and the rest of his pals at Alaska Airlines.
1. What happened to Alaska Flight 222 from SeaTac on the morning of
January 20, 2000?
2. I want a copy of the incident report. Where do I get it?
3. What happened to the “engine” we supposedly blew on take-off?
4. Where is that “engine” now?
5. What Alaska PLANE number was Flight 222 on Jan 20th?
6. Was it the same plane number as Flight 261?
7. If not, did the 261 plane receive 222′s “engine?”
8. I want a copy of the passenger list, complete with addresses and phone numbers of everyone on Flight 222/ Jan 20, 2000. How do I get it?
As the evidence from the NTSB hearings continue to point at lax maintenance by Alaska, I sit here wondering why I should ever get on another Alaska plane. Maybe the problem on 261 was indeed related to the jack screw assembly, but that doesn’t begin to answer what happened on Flight 222. Perhaps you can help me find those answers.
Thank you very much
Sincerely yours,
Jef Jaisun
Dear James,
I haven’t received a response from you since I e-mailed you the letter below over a month ago. So I guess the possibility that the Flight 261 disaster may have been preventable as late as 11 days prior is not an issue with you. However, I note with extreme distress in your P-I article today that not only was there a suspect arrangement between Alaska Airlines and the local FAA office, but that FAA officials conspired to exclude the Flight 261 investigation from the Freedom of Information Act. It was these same local FAA officials whom I contacted last spring regarding my experience on Flight 222. And you know what they told me? “Alaska didn’t tell us much about the emergency on your flight. You should file a Freedom of Information Act request.”
Now I know what they were really telling me: “Get lost!”
I may never find out what happened to Flight 222. You won’t, either. It’s just too bad nobody around here apparently has the guts, the curiosity or the dedication to the truth to find out if the Flight 222 emergency could have been related to Flight 261′s subsequent fatal plunge.
Sincerely yours,
Jef Jaisun