Chilling Cockpit Recording Captures Final Moments of Alaska Airlines Crash That Killed All On Board
A haunting cockpit recording has surfaced, revealing the final, terrifying moments of Alaska Airlines Flight 261 before it plunged into the Pacific Ocean, killing all 88 people on board.
The routine flight from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to Seattle, Washington, turned into a nightmare on January 31, 2000, when the MD-83 aircraft experienced catastrophic mechanical failure. While the crash occurred over two decades ago, the release of a chilling audio transcript has reignited public horror and heartbreak.
The recording, which captures the voices of Captain Ted Thompson and First Officer Bill Tansky, paints a picture of heroic calm amid impending doom. At first, the cockpit chatter is composed and professional. The pilots discuss a jammed horizontal stabilizer—an essential component that controls the plane’s pitch.
“We’ve got a jammed stabilizer, and we’re trying to get control of it,” the captain calmly relays to air traffic control. His voice is measured. But beneath the calm lies a storm brewing.
As efforts to troubleshoot fail, the plane lurches violently. The pilots briefly regain control using manual trim, only for the stabilizer to suddenly fail completely. At that moment, a sharp metallic snap is heard—followed by chaos.
“We are inverted!” one of the pilots shouts. The plane had flipped upside down.
Passengers in the cabin, unaware of the technical specifics, would have felt their world turn violently. Screams can be heard faintly in the background of the cockpit voice recorder, a harrowing reminder of the human toll in those final moments.
Captain Thompson and First Officer Tansky continued fighting until the very end. Despite knowing their fate, they worked together, frantically trying to level the plane. Their voices, though increasingly urgent, never cracked. The final seconds are heart-stopping.
“Push and roll, push and roll,” one says. Then, in a barely audible whisper, “God… help us.”
At 4:22 PM, the plane slammed into the ocean off the coast of California. There were no survivors.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation later revealed that the crash was caused by a failure in the plane’s jackscrew assembly, which had worn down due to poor maintenance practices. The jackscrew is responsible for controlling the pitch of the aircraft via the horizontal stabilizer. Grease that was meant to protect it had not been properly applied for years.
The tragedy led to sweeping changes in airline maintenance procedures and oversight. Alaska Airlines paid settlements to the victims’ families, and the incident remains one of the darkest chapters in U.S. aviation history.
As the cockpit recording now circulates online, many listeners are struck by the calm bravery of the crew. “They fought to the last second,” said aviation analyst Peter Goelz. “They died heroes.”
The voices of Flight 261 serve as a somber echo—a final message from those lost, reminding us that even in the face of death, courage can take flight.
