Member-only story
The Tragic Day an Alaska Airlines Plane Crashed in My Hometown
Flight 261 helped an entire industry re-emphasize aircraft safety
Author’s note: the story below was published just hours before American Eagle Flight 5342 collided with a military helicopter on approach to Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC. My heart goes out to those lost, and their families.
January 31, 2000 was a very busy Monday at the travel company where I worked with my girlfriend (now my wife). We were nearing the peak of leisure travel booking high season, which runs each year from the first full week of January through Easter.
There wasn’t a cloud in the sky as I took a break and left the office for a short walk at around 3:45 p.m. The sun was out, as it is most winter days in California’s Ventura County.
I made a couple of loops around the parking lot, breathing in the cool, fresh air before heading back into the office. I was about to learn of a large-scale tragedy unfolding 30 miles away, just offshore from my hometown.
Alaska Airlines Flight 261 had departed Puerto Vallarta, Mexico earlier that afternoon. Its destination was San Francisco, four hours north, with continuing service to Seattle.
