NPR's Mary Ann Akers reports from the crash investigation headquarters. The CSMU is a large cylinder that bolts onto the flat portion of . Contributing to the accident were Alaska Airlines. The crash occurred on Jan. 31 as the crew tried an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport. . They were her whole life. 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-? Claire Barnett (ph) was greeted with the news as she returned from her own vacation one day after the crash. An Alaska Airlines pilot, involved in the investigation of the horrific crash of Alaska Flight 261, has listened to the cockpit voice recorder from the downed plane and he reported that for the . ", Patty Sanchez, 59, of Seattle, whose daughter Colleen Whorley, 33, and Whorley's fiance, Monte Donaldson, 31, died in the crash, said, "We need to find the truth, so this doesn't happen again.". External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive. ''Yeah, no, it went down, it went to full nose down,'' the captain said. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. Please support this channel by following me on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/allecibayFollow me on:https://www.facebook.com/allec.ibayhttps://www.instagram.. "Whatever we did is no good," Tansky told Thompson. "I just felt like all the technicians here needed to be reminded that there are human beings involved," said Earlene Shaw, 65, of Olympia, Wash., whose husband, Don Shaw, 63, died on Flight 261. This material may not be reproduced without permission. -- 4:11:44 -- Thompson: Yeah, no, it went down, it went to full nose down. The Department of Defense provides the military forces needed to deter war and ensure our nation's security. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was a loss of airplane pitch control resulting from the in-flight failure of the horizontal stabilizer trim system jackscrew assembly's acme nut threads. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Emily Fowler is grateful to be alive. One second before the plane hit the water off the Southern California coast Jan. 31 at three times the force of gravity, killing all 88 people aboard, Thompson said his last words to Tansky, 57, of Alameda: The transcript of the cockpit voice recorder was among reams of information released yesterday by the National Transportation Safety Board as it opened a four-day hearing into the crash. simultaneous instrument departure in progress runway two four and two five. Assigned to lead the "Systems Group" for the NTSB go-team, I needed to . The plane plunged 7,000 feet in about a minute. "Yeah, we're in much worse shape now," the captain replied. The 31-minute recording begins with Capt. actually.1617:46 CAM-2 he wants us to maintain seventeen.1617:51 CAM-1 ok I need help with this here.1617:52 CAM-1 slats ext lets---1617:54 CAM-2 ok slats---1617:54 CAM-1 gimme slats extend.1617:55 CAM-2 got it.1617:56.6 CAM [sound similar to slat/flap handle movement]1617:58 CAM-1 I'm test flyin now---1617:59 CAM-2 how does it feel?1618:00 CAM-1 it's wantin to pitch over more on you.1618:02 CAM-2 really?1618:03 CAM-1 yea.1618:04 CAM-2 try flaps? fifteen, eleven?1618:05 CAM-1 ahh lets go to eleven.1618:07.3 CAM [sound similar to slat/flap handle movement]1618:09 CAM-2 ok get some power on.1618:10 CAM-1 I'm at two hundred and fifty knots, so I'm lookin.1618:17 CAM-2 real hard?1618:17 CAM-1 no actually its pretty stable right here see but we got to get down to a hundred an eighty.1618:26 CAM-1 OK bring bring the flaps and slats back up for me.1618:32 CAM-2 slats too?1618:33 CAM-1 yea.1618:36.8 CAM [sound similar to slat/flap handle movement]1618:37 CAM-2 that gives us twelve thousand pounds of fuel, don't over boost them.1618:47 CAM-1 what I'm what I wanna do1618:48 CAM [sound similar to slat/flap handle movement]1618:49 CAM-1 is get the nose up and then let the nose fall through andsee if we can stab it when it's unloaded.1618:54 CAWS [sound of chime] Altitude (repeats for approximately 34 seconds)1618:56 CAM-2 you mean use this again? and we currently have thirteen thousand six hundred pounds of fuel on board.1604:43 CAM-1 estimate ten thousand on landing.1604:45 RDO-2 estimating ten thousand pounds on landing.1604:53 LAX-OPS ok you said your takeoff weight was one one uhh one five one one decimal eight?1604:58 RDO-2 one three six five one one point eight.1605:05 LAX-OPS one three six five one one point eight thank you.1605:07 RDO-2 and we're currently a hundred and fifteen seven on our weight, and we'll burn another three thousand pounds.1605:19 CAM [sound of two clicks]1605:27 CAM-2 I'm back on the uh I'm off of the uh company.1606:26 CAM-1 no that's what I was expecting them to do. 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. Henry K. Lee has been a reporter for KTVU-TV since 2015. Much of the hearing will focus on the design and maintenance of the jackscrew mechanism that controls the stabilizer, used to control the plane's nose-up or nose-down attitude. 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 . I believe he's talking about this---1550:25 CAM-2 oh.1550:25 CAM-1 ---switch that's on the * that's on the pedestal.1550:27 CAM-2 yea okay.1550:31 CAM-1 do you see anything back there?1550:32 CAM [Sound of click]1550:33 CAM-2 uh there's *.1550:40 SEA-MX and two sixty one, maintenance.1550:42.0 RDO-1 go ahead maintenance two six one.1550:44 SEA-MX understand you're requesting uh diversion to L A for this uh discrepancy is there a specific reason you prefer L A over San Francisco?1550:45 MZT Alaska two sixty one radar service terminated contact uh Los Angeles center frequency one one nine decimal ninety five good day.1550:54.4 RDO-1 well a lotta times its windy and rainy and wet in San Francisco and uh, it seemed to me that a dry runway where the wind is usually right down the runway seemed a littlemore reasonable.1550:55.0 RDO-2 one one nine ninety five Alaska two sixty one.1551:01.2 RDO-2 say again the frequency one one nine point eh ninety five?1551:05 MZT affirm one one nine decimal ninety five.1551:09.3 RDO-2 roger.1551:09.9 SEA-MX ok and uh is this added fuel that you're gonna have in LA gonna be a complication or an advantage?1551:18.1 RDO-1 well the way I'm reading it uh heavier airplanes land faster right now I got fifteen five on board, I'm thinking to land with about twelve which is still uh an hour and forty minutes uh and those are the numbers I'm running up here.1551:20.6 RDO-2 L A Alaska two sixty one three one zero.1551:36 SEA-MX ok uh two sixty one standby for dispatch.1551:38 RDO-2 Los Angeles Alaska two sixty one three one zero.1551:40 RDO-1 OK the other thing you gotta know is that they're talking about holding and delays in San Francisco um for your maintenance facil- eh you know planning uh it uh L Aseemed like a smarter move from airworthy move.1551:42 LAX-CTR1 Alaska two sixty one L A center roger.1551:50 RDO-2 * there's two people on the frequency I'm sorry Alaska two sixty one I didn't hear your response.1551:58 LAX-CTR1 Alaska two six one squawk two zero one zero.1552:01 RDO-2 two zero one zero Alaska two sixty one.1552:02 SEA-DIS two sixty one dispatch uh current San Francisco weather one eight zero at six, nine miles, few at fifteen hundred broken twenty eight hundred overcast thirty four hundred uh if uh you want to land at L A of course for safety reasons we will do that uh wu we'll uh tell you though that if we land in LA uh we'll be looking at probably an hour to an hour and a half we have a major flow program going right now. If it jams in any particular position it can cause the plane to be difficult to recover. *1620:49 CAM [sounds similar to compressor stalls begin and continue to end of recording]1620:49 CAM [sound similar to engine spool down]1620:54 CAM-1 speedbrakes.1620:55.1 CAM-2 got it.1620:56.2 CAM-1 ah here we go.1620:57.1 [end of recording]. DAVIS: The two families, the Clemetsons (ph) and the Pearsons, close friends, were on the flight with their six children: Blake, Cori (ph), Miles, Spencer, Rachel and Grace. . A lot of people met Jesus that day through my mom." '', ''And I'd like to do that out here over the bay, if I may. at least upside down we're flying.". Is the Stanley Quencher tumbler worth its TikTok hype? Many relatives of crash victims attended the hearing yesterday. A transcript of the cockpit voice recorder showed that the pilots . Boeing Co. in 1997 bought McDonnell Douglas which designed the MD-80 and related aircraft that include the DC-9, MD-90 and Boeing 717. At one point, for example, Captain Thompson, 53, and his first officer, William Tansky, 57, decided to turn off the autopilot to see if it made the MD-80 easier to control. two two five zero zulu. "Ah here we go," Thompson says just at the end of the recording. The safety board will rule on a probable cause of the crash next year. the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder. Chawkins, Steve. Transcripts of Doomed Alaska Flight / Voices of Doom on Alaska Air / Transcripts depict pilots' frantic struggle in final minutes of Flight 261, Search team member Eric Hermann pulled in a piece of Flight 261's fuselage after the Alaska Airlines plane crashed on Jan. 31. Site: Pacific Ocean near Anacapa Island, . Information on the Alaska Airlines Flight 261 cockpit voice recorder as provided by John Hammerschmidt, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board . ", - "Observation No. Dec. 13, 2000 -- A transcript of the cockpit voice recorder of doomed Alaska Airlines Flight261 shows that the pilots struggled to get the plane upright before it crashed into the . 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. Transcript Tells of Alaska Airlines Pilots' Efforts Before Crash, https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/14/us/transcript-tells-of-alaska-airlines-pilots-efforts-before-crash.html. If a private company tried to turn the Flight 261 disaster into a commercial for their product, an outraged public would probably hound them out of business. ROCHELLE: Stabilizer trim literally stabilizes the aircraft in a particularly flight mode. "It was really tough there for a while.". boy I don't know.1613:33 CAM-1 its up to you man.1613:35 CAM-2 lets head back toward uh here lets see well we're---1613:39 CAM-1 I like where were goin out over the water myself I don't like goin this fast though.1613:50 CAM [sound of click]1613:57 CAM-1 ok you got * [sound similar to short interruption in recording] second?1613:58 CAM-2 yea.1613:59 CAM-2 we better talk to the people in the back there.1614:03 CAM-1 yea I know.1614:04 LAX-CTR1 Alaska two sixty one let me know if you need anything.1614:08 RDO-2 yea we're still workin this.1614:12 PA-1 folks we have had a flight control problem up front here we're workin it uh that's Los Angeles off to the right there that's where we're intending to go. "The Bright Shining Lie of Flight 261." NTSB officials also said it was too early to link the crash with an incident involving an American Airlines jet yesterday. Origins: The crew of Alaska Airlines Flight 261 wrestled with a jammed stabilizer for 11 or 12 minutes, trying to maintain altitude and guide their plane to an emergency landing, before the airliner finally plunged into the Pacific Ocean near Port Hueneme on 31 January 2000. MARI INGRAM, EMILY'S MOTHER: It was such a close call. Officials say the tape which runs a little more than 30 minutes begins with the crew discussing a stabilizer trim problem and continues until the plane hits the water. "That's the way they were," he said. 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. -- 4:19:54 -- Thompson: OK, we are inverted and now we gotta get it. ET THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. advise on initial contact, you have information mike. The twin-jet MD-80. you buy that?1614:53 CAM-1 slow it down and see what happens.1614:54 LAX-CTR1 Alaska two sixty one contact L A center one two six point five two they are aware of your situation.1615:00.0 RDO-2 ok Alaska two sixty one say again the frequency, one two zero five two?1615:02 CAM-1 I got the yoke.1615:04 LAX-CTR1 Alaska two sixty one, twenty six fifty two1615:06 RDO-2 thank you.1615:07 LAX-CTR1 you're welcome have a good day.1615:19.7 RDO-2 L A Alaska two sixty one we're with you we're at twenty two five, we have a jammed stabilizer and we're maintaining altitude with difficulty. . "Mayday," says Tansky followed by Thompson saying the plane is upside down, "we are inverted.". cockpit voice recorder (CVR) transcript about 1549,6 which suggests . The 2 pilots, 3 cabin crewmembers, and 83 passengers on board were killed, and the airplane was destroyed by impact forces. Hot latina amaira. By ABC News. They lost several friends in the crash, but came frighteningly close to losing a child. INGRAM: There's just no way to describe that they're not going to be here. 1995 - 2023 by Snopes Media Group Inc. '', See the article in its original context from. An Alaska Airlines pilot, involved in the investigation of the horrific crash of Alaska Flight 261, has listened to the cockpit voice recorder from the downed plane and he reported that for the last 9 minutes of the flight, the wife of the pastor from Monroe, WA, can be heard sharing the Gospel with the passengers over the plane's intercom system. it seems to be helping.1610:51 CAM-1 # me.1610:53 CAWS [sound of chime] Altitude1610:55 CAM-1 ok it really wants to pitch down.1610:58 CAM-2 ok.1610:59 CAM-1 don't mess with that.1611:04 CAM-2 I agree with you.1611:04 LAX-CTR1 Alaska two sixty one say your condition.1611:06.6 RDO-1 two sixty one we are at twenty four thousand feet, kinda stabilized.1611:10 RDO-1 we're slowing here, and uh, we're gonna uh.1611:15 RDO-1 do a little troubleshooting, can you gimme a block between uh, twenty and twenty five?1611:21 LAX-CTR1 Alaska two sixty one maintain block altitude flight level two zero zero through flight level two five zero.1611:27 RDO-1 Alaska two sixty one we'll take that block we'll be monitor'n the freq.1611:31 CAM-2 you have the airplane let me just try it.1611:33 CAM-1 ok.1611:33 CAM-2 uh how hard is it?1611:33 CAM-1 I don't know my adrenaline's goin it was really tough there for a while.1611:38 CAM-2 yea it is.1611:39 CAM-1 ok.1611:43 CAM-2 whatever we did is no good, don't do that again.1611:44 CAM-1 yea, no it went down it went to full nose down.1611:48 CAM-2 uh it's a lot worse than it was?1611:50 CAM-1 yea yea we're in much worse shape now.1611:59 CAM-1 I think its at the stop, full stop and I'm thinking, we can- can it go any worse but it probably can but when we slowed down, lets slow it lets get down to two hundred knots and see what happens.1612:16 CAM-2 ok?1612:16 CAM [sound of click]1612:17 CAM-2 we have to put the slats out and everything flaps and slats.1612:20 CAM-1 yea well we'll wait ok you got it for a second?1612:23 CAM-2 yea.1612:25.3 RDO-1 maintenance two sixty one are you on?1612:30 LAX-MX-2 yea two sixty one this is maintenance.1612:32.0 RDO-1 ok we did---1612:33.2 RDO-1 ---we did both the pickle switch and the suitcase handles and it ran away full nose trim down.1612:39 LAX-MX-2 oh it ran away trim down.1612:42 RDO-1 and now we're in a * pinch so we're holding uh we're worse than we were.1612:50 LAX-MX-2 ok uh geez.1612:52 LAX-MX-1 you want me to talk to em?