The Pilot of this Faulty Plane Made a Selfless Call That Saved Lives 🛩 Air Disasters | Smithsonian

January 31, 2000: After a terrifying, inexplicable minute-long plunge that saw the crew barely manage to regain control, the pilot of Flight 261 radioed a request to be routed out over the Pacific Ocean. It turned out to be a heroic decision: if the plane had crashed over land, countless people on the ground would have been killed.
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[@gaztastic]

RIP to Captain Theodore Thompson and First Officer William Tansky. Absolutely selfless work by these two, and quite literally the definition of what a pilot should be.

[@OfficalGamer-mv2qo]

they r actors chill but they recreate for documentary

[@gaztastic]

@@OfficalGamer-mv2qo You don't think I'm aware that these are actors?

[@OfficalGamer-mv2qo]

@@gaztastic not u its 813

[@nasirsoomro-eo7nu]

Well done to make sur vive

[@khangpianoplane]

These are actors?

[@ChayseC]

For people who are confused on why it says that the captain saved lives is because the captain asked to stay above water to get his plane under control to not injure anyone on the ground, by doing this, he could’ve saved hundreds of lives from a fiery explosion in a neighbourhood.

[@tenchskate6066]

Pilots are underappreciated in my opinion

[@statusboom-x6348]

I second this motion.

[@chennygrapes]

Yes

[@rosssmith9941]

Yes I agree they are very under appreciated workers in our society, I think they are bad asses.

[@AviationMahin]

❤️

[@Donkeymaster9000]

Those 3 kids in heaven looking at the comments section. Mother fu-

[@orca2384]

Respect for the pilots They never gave up

[@okhaerinn]

Rip the passengers and pilots who tried their best to land untill the very end. Rest in peace

[@TealBarbecue535_Gaming]

RIP Theodore Thompson and First Officer William Tansky for the absolute selfless work to try and recover the plane although it went down these 2 pilots wont ever be forgotten and will be remembered for there countless efforts to save the plane and it's passengers and crew on board but also to Captain Theodore Thompson who requested to stay above the pacific to save many lives on the ground.

[@LSBPS7614]

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.

[@hostrauer]

The NTSB also found that Alaska was using the wrong type of lubrication for the jackscrew. Testing showed that even this "wrong" lubrication would have gotten the job done if Alaska had simply used enough of it. So not only did Alaska cut costs by using a cheap grease, but they cut the time of the maintenance procedure so that not enough grease could get applied. Double whammy.

[@Black_Caucus]

Least surprising thing a corporation has done in... well... never.

[@justricky12]

It’s so sad,that the pilots couldn’t save their plane,it’s just,that I find it incredible,how Alaska airlines,chose money over lives…

[@juliemanarin4127]

Don't they always? Yes all companies do.

[@justricky12]

@@juliemanarin4127 ye,it’s sad

[@miggis]

Don't forget everyone, that the pilots purposefully inverted the plane to try to bring the nose into the air. Smart thinking!

[@marka1422]

You really do NOT understand why this plane went down. There was NOTHING they could do to control the plane because of what happened with that jackscrew in the tail that controlled the pitch of the plane.

[@La_inconsolable]

No they did not purposefully invert it. I think you are referring to the movie Flight, which is loosely based on this incident. Here the horizontal stabilizer was jammed and their efforts to restart the motor unknowingly made it move eve though it was jammed in place. It was jammed because alaska airlines cut costs in maintainance and hence did not grease the screws which held the mechanism. Due to restarting the motor, it moved and broke all the screw windings, ultimately the entire mechanism was retained by a acme nut, which ultimately gave up and hence caused the plane to dive nose down. While coming down the entire stabilizer was damaged and hence they did not have any control over the plane, still they tried their best to control it. The plane inverted due to the entire mechanism falling apart and they managed to fly for sometime being inverted.

[@qssneaky]

For what reason though? To buy time in case the plane magically put itself back together again? Fact is they simply prolonged the inevitable causing even more terrifying panic and torture for the passengers.

[@AzulToad]

Good pilots with good deeds to attempt to make people survive sadly it failed. They did really good so R.I.P the captain and first officer 😢😢😢

[@jennifernordhoff6478]

A whole lot of uneducated opinions in these comments. Alaska Airlines is 100% responsible.

[@Christianboot12]

Alaska air at the time has a really bad record with it’s planes

[@theadventureinsider]

The fact that they were even control the plane at all to prevent mass devestation is incredible

[@Mike-bh7sh]

Sad. Some information not relayed... The reason the stabilizer failed was that alaska air had been cutting maintenance to save money. One of their technicians filed a complaint with the FAA about this, including allegations that maintenance logs were being falsified. Even though the federal prosecutors raided alaska air nothing was done to prevent them from continuing to fly - or have maintenance oversight. Six months later Alaska air placed the mechanic on paid leave. Even AFTER the crash and discovery of the reasons, the federal government decided NOT to file criminal charges. In fact as part of the their conclusions they blamed McDonnell Douglas of not having a fail-safe system for the stabilizer. While this is true - McDonnell Douglas design was strong enough to prevent normal failures - but not if the entire system's maintenance schedule was neglected. Rather like blaming your vehicle's manufacturer because you decided to not put brake fluid in the system and then drive your car down the side of a mountain. Alaska air reduced maintenance meant the stabilizer's drive screw and nut had not been greased far beyond its required McDonnell Douglas' required schedule. It had run dry and the screw threads had sheared. The initial malfunction was caused when the threads jammed in the nut. When they forced the stabilizer by over powering it, the threads let loose and the stabilizer slid into maximum nose down attitude. They were able to pull out of this dive. But, they continued to mess with the stabilizer. The captain decided to stay out over the water and test the controls rather than taking it immediately for a landing. The stabilizer's retaining nut then sheared as well causing the stabilizer to rupture the top of the structure which sent the plane into an uncontrollable dive. Possibly, if they had immediately gone in for a landing, the plane might have held together just long enough. Impossible to know.

[@sinergizer7231]

This is exactly what happens when companies try to cut corners, people die because of negligence and it is an absolute joke and a total shame. God Speed to the pilots who did everything they could to fix the problems

[@juliemanarin4127]

This disaster is heartbreaking

[@zero1fifty8]

That plane murdered those poor souls

[@qssneaky]

Alaska Airlines and their greed murdered everyone.

[@RoySan20]

Dear admin, pls edit the video title, it sends inaccurate message. Anyway, I remember this incident- the pilots did everything until the very end, I pray for their families.

[@blackheart6897]

What wrong message

[@Suparmi-l7c]

Alhamdulillah, mashaAllah dari sorot mata ibu ini jelas nampak perbedaanx sebelum sama sesudah ruqyah, lbh tenang

[@1stcrg]

That plane was like a peregrine falcon

[@ayakotami3318]

This was an avoidable accident had maintenance been done right. The one who reported faulty maintenance procedures got suspended which angers me because he was doing so to avoid such a tragedy. Thanks to maintenance not being done right this plane crashed. 😡 😤 This is exactly why following maintenance procedures is critical on airlines. The crash of Chalk's Ocean Airways 101 due to faulty maintenance and cutting costs is another example. 20 died in that crash. I know Alaska Airlines is still sround, but the resulting crash of 101 was s major part putting Chalk's Ocean Airways of business. RIP Everyone on board

[@ColoursOfINDONESIAA320]

0:22 boom

[@jayvhoncalma3458]

1:23 from what I know about this episode was parts of the plane's tail ripped off during the dive

[@WeashleyCordero]

Pilot say holy sh_

[@aliegg4]

I dont know about flying planes etc but could the plane have rolled over to reverse the effect of the stableiser failure...I get its not a fighter jet so I imagine thatd stress the airframe.....just wondering how that works

[@StevenOBrien]

No. It's believed they deliberately inverted the plane towards the end in a desperate attempt to regain control. When the stabilizer is stuck pushing the nose down, if you flip the plane upside down, it will have the opposite effect and push the nose up towards the sky.

[@louieosumo]

Because of inadequate grease, the jackscrew got jammed, and the pilots forceful attempt to free it made it worse

[@marka1422]

They were doing what would normally be done in keeping control of the plane. They could NOT have known that the jackscrew had stripped its threads which caused the loss of control. This was the fault of Alaska Airlines and their cost-cutting measures.

[@Eliott-b7j]

3:21

[@theaveragescienceguy8652]

Title: saved lives Outcome: 88 are gone… Me …, what da….

[@FaizalAwanZ]

The pilots chose to land in the ocean than the land causing hundreds of ppls on the lnad to survive

[@8346324970712]

Camara man is imortal he never dies

[@Eliott-b7j]

i'm cry / sad

[@MrKofi137]

I’m sorry but what was the point of the title if they all died-

[@EmeryE2]

They saved people on the ground by staying over the water instead of going back above ground where residents of towns would have been so yea they saved lives by staying above water

[@jegortsukanov8990]

Same difference between air crash investigation and national geographic channel

[@California89]

AY AYY AYY AYYYYYY 3 YOUNG CHILDERN

[@marcosrico6222]

Very familiar with this one, not sure it’s up to par

[@borood1188]

Saved lives? What lives, they all died

[@nattygsbord]

Yes everyone on the plane did. But if you was standing on the ground and saw a big plane coming crashing down towards you I guess you would have a different opinion.

[@borood1188]

How did he supposedly save lives when everyone on the plane died?

[@Tonyable1]

Please change the title of this video. It’s incredibly misleading

[@germanfisch]

The pilots went over the ocean because they didn't want to kill anyone on the ground. It is not misleading

[@OfficalGamer-mv2qo]

because if u go to 2:22 it will look like flight sim i hope so

[@EmeryE2]

It’s animation

[@OfficalGamer-mv2qo]

0:27 why is there people i tought its just flight sim with no fuel salage?

[@OfficalGamer-mv2qo]

hey 813 is the actors still alive to this day?

[@licomelano8482]

Cameraman live to tell the story

[@EpicJoshua314]

This is so much better than the stupid remake they did.

[@fs10inator]

Ditto 100%; the remake was the goofiest piece of junk I've seen, alongside the JAL123 crash. "HERE WE GOOOOOOOOOO" Also, nowhere in the OG was the engines dying mentioned, as far as I remember.

[@EpicJoshua314]

@@fs10inator In the Admiral Cloudberg write up it says the engines did stall due to disrupted airflow. But, in the remake it doesn't say why the engines stalled and it hits the water at a very steep nose down attitude while in reality it hit the water at a shallow nose down attitude.

[@MLXaviation]

Then if you are calling the Remakes "Stupid" Let's see how Junky the United Airlines flight 811 remake can be, why? Because ACI confirmed that Season 24 Episode 1 will be a remake of the first ever Episode of the Series, so if they mess up, maybe people will critisize ACI and the team will not make remakes anymore

[@jackwoods9604]

Sick & Demented Crash...Humans Should Never be in Such a HORRIFYING Situation Like This...Commercial Air Travel = ABSURD Concept

[@germanfisch]

Air travel is literally the safest mode of transportation. It's just that it's the scariest when it's actually crashing

[@barrelrolltoday6051]

Car accidents happen pretty damn fast. If it's a really bad one, you usually don't know it and may actually survive. Plane crashes tend to have a bit of an "Ok now I know I'm dead" feeling to them, as you wait for the inevitable. Much more terrifying.

[@sandserpenthiss]

tHaT sAvEd LiVeS

[@germanfisch]

Yeah... imagine a plane crashed over your house right now. Now do you realize why them going over the ocean saved lives?

[@sandserpenthiss]

@@germanfisch oh yeah nvm

[@angrytailsandjosedanieldia6238]

Now if the plane went upside down what cause it its stabilizer

[@natesturm448]

If it wasn't for pilots? We literally couldn't go anywhere other than doing weeks at sea. They should be respected more and get a better pay IMO because the more you fly, the closer you are to becoming added to the statistic chart. I mean hell, they're flying literal buildings. Give em some more love.

[@clearcoat1st]

That doesn't belong in the ocean!!

[@OfficalGamer-mv2qo]

1:37 why does it look like theres people and the act? whats going on

[@pizzarat3275]

It's a reinactment. Those are actors. There is no video from the crash and no one survived.

[@zivapasha21]

That same on the remake?

[@OfficalGamer-mv2qo]

me when in nose dive with my copilot in md90: me: Should we jump out but we have to be at least 3700 feet to have oxygen? the copilot: no we have to die me: no NO PUSHES HIM OUT PUSHES ALL OF PASSENGERS OUT: EVERYONE BRACE BRACE FOR IMPACT HITS THE OCEAN: US: OWWW BUT WE SURVIVED THE PASSENGERS: YAYYYY US: OH NO PASSENGERS COPILOT RUNNN IT'S ABOUT TO CRASH US: SWIMS AWAY FROM THE PLANE LIKE 1 MINUTE AWAY

[@Eliott-b7j]

00:27

[@Asiana-r8x]

RIP

[@JustGamingSree]

I think there stalled without control planes

[@Eliott-b7j]

3:00

[@Maintenance_Mark]

Why didn't they talk about how the pilots inverted the plane to try and save it?

[@nattygsbord]

The plane inverted itself, and the pilots hold on for dear life trying to save everyone on board the plane. When the plane was flying upside down it was at least not diving and crashing towards the ground. However there was nothing that could have saved that plane. In hindsight should they have turned around the plane and landed it at the closest airport as soon as they got aware of the problem with a faulty tail, and before this problem got worse. But the pilots gambled that it wasn't so serious so they continued to fly, and a tiny gentle push was too much and the pilots lost control over the plane. From that moment the screw fell off was it GAME OVER. Nothing could have saved that plane from that moment onwards. I do not blame the pilots for this crash. I think poor maintainance and corporate greed of Alaska airlines to save money by insuffiecently maintaining their planes are 90% responsible for this crash. And all the rest of the blame do I give aircraft manufacturers for not inventing any backup systems. If a plane crashes because its only vertical stabilizer fails, then maybe the aircraft then needs 2 such stabilizers?

[@dailyofcallum2024]

before last time the air crash investigation s1 has old of alaska airlines flight 261 before get remake the new season 23 just like animation

[@MLXaviation]

Season 22*

[@johnny5805]

All because Air Alaska tried to cut costs and didn't lubricate the jackscrew !

[@fionlee68]

How did that happen

[@hardv8]

To This Day I don't know WHY reporters and narrators feel the need to say comments like "...including 3 young children." I mean, the accident is already horrific enough...what are they gaining from mentioning the number of children? This is a serious question I have asked myself many times. I am not looking for smart ar$e comments (I can do those myself) but if anybody knows, I would be very grateful to find out.

[@germanfisch]

So you can feel the gravity of the crash?

[@xioeoeoed]

Misleading title

[@1stcrg]

Are those guys acting?

[@8346324970712]

If I would of been a pilot 1st thing I do is just land as soon as possible any where land or ocean.

[@marka1422]

That's what they were TRYING to do, but they had NO control of the plane because the tail controls were broken due to lack of proper maintenance because of Alaska Airlines cutting costs on maintenance.

[@maritogonzalez19]

261

[@thewesternway]

How could there be a selfless call ever if they could of just declared an emergency landing?

[@TealBarbecue535_Gaming]

The pilots knew that they weren't going to survive so the captain radioed and asked to stay over the pacific. This was a selfless call as the captain didn't want anyone to die if they hit the ground. that's why he picked to go down into the sea where nobody was.

[@germanfisch]

You think if they declared an emergency landing they would've landed safely automatically? Bro what is your logic like 💀

[@ayakotami3318]

​@@germanfisch They had tried to do just that, but the stabilizer in the tail was jammed so they had no control. They were able to the first time it dived, but the tail broke and that caused the fatal dive and the plane to flip upside down. Mayday did a episode on it.

[@bigTee_9]

Everyone die so why dose the title say selfless action saves

[@bigTee_9]

Lives

[@germanfisch]

Because he went over the ocean instead over a city potentially saving lives of people on the ground

[@tytan7772]

😢

[@kwakester]

Hehe, they've got a mechanical failure but still have food carts being served. The whole re-enactment reminded me of me playing in cardboard boxes as a kid. RIP

[@W1n5treak]

🛫🛫🛫

[@OfficalGamer-mv2qo]

plus these pilots look like its a simulator

[@EmeryE2]

It’s cgi animated

[@OfficalGamer-mv2qo]

@@EmeryE2 r these people real

[@EmeryE2]

@@OfficalGamer-mv2qo what you saw inside the cabin and cockpit were actors but as it says at the beginning of each episode it was based off cockpit voice recordings, official reports, and eyewitness accounts. So yes it’s all real but it was recreated for the documentary

[@OfficalGamer-mv2qo]

@@EmeryE2 i know but when about to why slowly show white plus is the actors alive?

[@EmeryE2]

@@OfficalGamer-mv2qo it went white to show that the plane crashed since it didn’t show it in the cgi animation and yes the actors survived they were acting for this documentary so what you saw in the cockpit and cabin were people acting. The actors survived but the people on the real plane that crashed all died

[@OfficalGamer-mv2qo]

If they kept the speed brakes fully extended they would have survived and they should have increased power till max power and if they kept the flaps extended before retracted they would have survived

[@juliemanarin4127]

How do you know?

[@marka1422]

Even without the tail controls??!

[@OfficalGamer-mv2qo]

@@marka1422 dude what will happen if they did not switch the motors would they have survive or wat

[@marka1422]

@@OfficalGamer-mv2qo --The problem was NOT with the engines. It was the tail stabilizer which keeps the pitch of the plane at a horizontal level (the pitch up or down). This video doesn't go into the cause of the crash. I've seen the whole video on TV. The problem was something called a jackscrew which maneuvered the level on the stabilizer on the tail. That screw required lubrication after a certain number of flight hours to keep it operating properly. Alaska Airlines had been in trouble financially, so they started cutting costs in a number of ways including in maintenance of their planes. As a result, the jackscrew hadn't been properly lubricated, so in the investigation of this crash, it was found that the threads on the jackscrew had been stripped because of the action that the pilots had done in trying to stabilize the plane. Had there been lubrication on that screw, there wouldn't have been a crash and loss of life. 😢

[@subjectj077]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/nmitd3acpJZoac0

[@otnielbatista6192]

Me:

[@Lordxboy1]

Ccx

[@fartemisfartmallow8647]

I don’t think I will be traveling by plane any time soon. 🫣

[@pizzarat3275]

This crash happened in 2000. Alaska Airlines has not had any crashes since then aside from one in Alaska that ran into a bear that ran out on the runway during landing. It didn't end well for the bear but all the humans were fine.

[@Rie796]

0:34

[@ACI_clips.]

1:18

[@HANDPHONE528]

00:27

[@Rie796]

0:34

[@Eliott-b7j]

0:14

[@HANDPHONE528]

0:14

[@jjd55068]

3:11

[@jjd55068]

0:34 What In the plane what you doing East to Navigasion

[@jjd55068]

0:45