McDonnell Douglas MD-83 crash, Jan 31, 2000 (88 killed)
McDonnell Douglas MD-83 accident on January 31, 2000 near Anacapa Island, California, United States with 88 fatalities. Cause: Failure of the...
- Date: January 31, 2000
- Aircraft: McDonnell Douglas MD-83
- Location: Anacapa Island, California, United States
- Fatalities: 88
- Phase of flight: En route
- Cause: Failure of the horizontal stabilizer jackscrew acme nut threads from excessive wear caused by inadequate lubrication and extended maintenance intervals, which led to loss of pitch control.
Alaska Airlines Flight 261, an MD-83 on a scheduled service from Puerto Vallarta, dove into the Pacific off Anacapa Island after the horizontal stabilizer jackscrew nut threads wore through. All 88 people aboard died. The NTSB found the wear resulted from insufficient lubrication and from extended maintenance intervals approved by the FAA.