Tragic End of Alaska Airlines Flight 261 - Case Study

Introduction

Alaska airlines flight 261 crashed into the pacific ocean on January 31st 2000. The crash killed everyone on board including 2 pilots, 3 cabin crew members, and 83 passengers. The international passenger flight as coming from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Seattle, Washington, United States, with a stop at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, California and was heading to Licenciado Gustavo Diaz Ordaz International Airport in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico.

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Possible Claims Against Alaska Airlines

Some of the claims against Alaska Airlines Inc resulting from the crash by The National Transportation Safety Board (2000) included the following,

It was reported that Alaska Airlines' extended the interval of lubrication, and when the Federal Aviation Administration approved of that extension, it caused the possibility of inadequate lubrication that would eventually cause too much friction, which would cause wear of the acme nut threads.

Alaska Airlines' lengthened the end play check interval, and when the FAA approved of that extension, it allowed the excessive wear of the acme nut threads to fail to an extent that detection of the problem was impossible.

The other claim resulting from the crash was the absence on the MD-80 of a fail-safe mechanism to prohibit huge problems that would be caused by acme nut thread loss.

Standing to Sue

The people who had the standing to sue as a result of the accident were the family members of the crash victims. The reason is that the crash led to pain and suffering from their end. In fact, they have a standing to sue for wrongful death. Even so, the cause of the accident could have been avoided if the airline took proper measures to ensure that necessary maintenance checks were performed by the mechanics. The excessive wear and tear of the arme nuts in the plane resulted in failure, which caused the crash. In 2003, families of the crash victims received millions of dollar in settlements from Alaska, Boeing according to their lawyers (Kravets, 2003). As Kravets (2003) reports, the aviation attorney, Brian Panish, indicated that the settlement was between a couple of millions to $20 million.

Alaska Airlines Response to the Disaster

Less than twenty-four hours from the crash, when rescue operations were still being conducted, John Kelly, the CEO and chairman of Alaska Airlines Inc, responded to the incident by affirming in a press conference that rescue efforts were still being conducted. This as on day one where Kelly indicated that they will do everything possible to ensure that they are doing everything they can for the family (Springmann and Pellet, 2000). On day two after the crash, when it emerged that Alaska Airlines has been under investigation over maintenance and repair issues, John Kelly refuted these claims (Springmann and Pellet, 2000). However, on day 45 of the investigation, when 64 maintenance workers cited claims of malpractice, John kelly responded by announcing that it will have 13 outside safety experts to conduct an audit of airline safety measures (Springmann and Pellet, 2000). Even despite its tarnished image, during the course of the investigation, Alaska airlines maintained open communications, quick sharing of information once it was available, countering misleading information with factual responses in a timely manner, and addressing concerns raised immediately (Springmann and Pellet, 2000).

References

Kravets, D. (2003). All but one Suit Settled in flight 261 crash. Seattlepi. Retrieved from https://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/All-but-one-suit-settled-in-Flight-261-crash-1118595.php

National Transportation Safety Board. (2000). The Alaska 261 Crash Findings. Retrieved from http://www.iasa.com.au/folders/Breaking_News/hotoffthepress/ntsbfindings.html

Springman, C., and Pellet, J. (2000). Diary of a Disaster. Chiefexecutive. Retrieved from https://chiefexecutive.net/diary-of-a-disaster__trashed/