Cause and Effect of the Crash of Alaska Airlines Flight261 Essay

Cause and Effect of the Crash of Alaska Airlines Flight261 - Essay Example The National Transportation Safety Board said that the probable cause of the accident was â€Å"a loss of airplane pitch control resulting from the in-flight failure of the horizontal stabilizer trim system jackscrew assembly's acme nut threads†. The thread failure was caused by excessive wear resulting from Alaska Airlines' insufficient lubrication of the jackscrew assembly (NSTB, January 31, 2000).But when I watched the video and upon reading the transcriptions of the investigations of the National Transportation Safety Board, I realized that the jack-screw is only a participating evident of inefficiencies of the system.The circle of event shows inefficiencies on the maintenance system of the Alaska Airlines; as mechanics and authorities of the airlines dismissed warnings that the jack screw is already overused and that it may caused future problems. Perhaps reason for this is the cost of replacement is expensive. However, had it been regularly oiled and lubricated, the prob lem maybe did not exist. Clearly, at this level of ground maintenance, something is already amiss.Going to the pilots, there is no reason not to believe they are experts in their fields, but the captain lacked the will to exercise its authority to act in an emergency. Upon knowing of the problem at the tail of the aircraft, they had plenty of time to return, or land in the nearest field. The captain wanted to emergency land in Los Angeles airport, but was discouraged by the Alaskan Airlines operator at the Tower.