Crashed: January 31, 2000, in the Pacific Ocean

Most of those aboard had just enjoyed several sunny days in beautiful Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Alaska Air Flight 261 was heading to San Francisco and then continuing on to Seattle for many passengers on that fateful day in 2000. Suddenly, as it flew along the Pacific coast, the aircraft was experiencing problems. Unable to land, it crashed into the ocean, killing everyone aboard.

News started filtering of a plane crash in the Pacific Ocean as families hoped against hope that their loved ones were not on the plane. As the passenger and crew lists were confirmed, families were devastated and helpless. Seven turned to Clifford Law Offices to help sort through a family’s worst nightmare. Traveling to the west coast seemed futile, yet the families wanted answers. The airline was not forthcoming in details.

Robert Clifford recommended filing a lawsuit as soon as possible. Two weeks after crash, he did so. That would not only send a message to all of the parties involved that the families meant business, it also meant that they had a chance to participate in getting answers from the beginning. They did not want to wait. They wanted to be informed and stay informed. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) immediately sends out a team of investigators to examine the crash in order to determine the cause, but family members generally are not allowed to be part of that investigatory process. Bob Clifford wanted this time to be different, if at all possible.

After determining it was an MD-83 aircraft built in 1992, Clifford Law Offices determined that the manufacturer of the plane was McDonnell Douglas which became a part of Boeing. Within hours, the law firm had hired expert consultants in the field of aviation law. While teams of NTSB investigators boarded Coast Guard ships, Navy vessels and private boats to comb for debris in a four-mile-wide search for clues and remains. Clifford Law Offices hired experts to look into the design of the aircraft, previous problems with that particular model and the various parts that could have been defective. Clifford Law Offices took more than 100 depositions of engineers and design people from McDonnell Douglas, the designers of the aircraft, and Boeing, the airplane’s manufacturer. After three years of questioning it was determined that the horizontal stabilizer had jammed, causing the plane to go into a dive. Mounted on the tail of the plane, the stabilizer controls the pitch of the nose and keeps it from heading downward. A jackscrew, relatively small compared to the size of this large aircraft, had caused an enormous and avoidable loss of life. Although the aircraft had clearance to make an emergency landing in Los Angeles, the final audio transmission from the cockpit made it unclear why the crew did not do so. Flight 261 plunged 20,000 feet into the Pacific Ocean about 20 miles north of Los Angeles International Airport near Point Mugu. Depositions led by Kevin Durkin of airline executives and aviation experts resulted in Boeing stipulating to a liability judgment against them despite the NTSB giving the corporate giant a virtual pass in its final report. On behalf of the seven families who lost loved ones aboard that airliner, Clifford Law Offices obtained $40 million for its clients.

A year after the crash, families gathered near the Pacific Ocean and watched 88 doves released – one for each passenger killed – knowing that their loved ones would never be forgotten.