Board expected to blame airline maintenance for 2000 crash

WASHINGTON -- Federal investigators blame Alaska Airlines' failure to grease a tail component for the crash of Flight 261 nearly three years ago, but safety officials also are considering whether a design flaw contributed to the accident that killed all 88 aboard.

A draft report to be considered today by the National Transportation Safety Board blames insufficient lubrication for excessive wear and eventual failure of the MD-80's jackscrew, which helps move the plane's stabilizer and sets the angle of flight.

The safety board also will discuss whether the MD-80 series of jets should have a back-up system to avoid a catastrophe resulting from a jackscrew failure.

Flight 261 took off from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on Jan. 31, 2000, and was scheduled to make stops in San Francisco and Seattle. The pilots reported problems with handling and were planning to make an emergency landing in Los Angeles when the stabilizer broke off, causing the plane to roll over and plunge into the Pacific Ocean.

Crash investigators later concluded the jackscrew mechanism jammed soon after takeoff.

Alaska Airlines has said the failure of the jackscrew resulted from extreme wear caused by a kind of grease recommended by Boeing. The airline also blamed the design, saying the threads on the nut of the jackscrew assembly failed.

Boeing spokeswoman Liz Verdier said the company will wait for the final report before commenting. However, Boeing has said in the past that the jet that crashed went "an extended period without adequate lubrication."

Initial investigation of the crash indicated the Federal Aviation Administration overlooked problems with the Alaska Airlines' maintenance program.

The FAA thoroughly reviewed the airline's maintenance practices and recommended that the carrier not be allowed to maintain its own planes if problems weren't fixed, said FAA spokeswoman Diane Spitaliere.