What happened
On January 31, 2000, at approximately 1621 Pacific standard time, Alaska Airlines, Inc., flight 261 crashed into the Pacific Ocean. The aircraft, a McDonnell Douglas MD-83, bearing registration N963AS, went down about 2.7 miles north of Anacapa Island, California.
The flight was operating as a scheduled international passenger service under instrument flight rules. The route originated at Lic Gustavo Diaz Ordaz International Airport in Puerto Vallada, Mexico, with a planned intermediate stop at San Francisco International Airport before continuing to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Washington. At the time of the accident, visual meteorological conditions were in effect.
The impact forces destroyed the aircraft and resulted in 88 fatalities, comprising 2 pilots, 3 cabin crewmembers, and 83 passengers.