NTSB rejects Alaska theory on crash of Flight 261

By Steve Miletich
Seattle Times business reporter

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The wrong grease didn't cause Alaska Airlines Flight 261 to crash, but a lack of grease probably was a key factor, federal safety investigators have concluded.

At a closed-door review Wednesday of the National Transportation Safety Board's crash investigation, experts ruled out that an incompatible type of grease might have caused corrosion of a key component known as the jackscrew in the MD-83 jet's tail.

However, the NTSB report, due later this year, is almost certain to say the crash in January 2000 stemmed from failure of a jackscrew that lacked proper lubrication, according to two people who attended the review and described its conclusions.

That finding would be a setback for Alaska Airlines and a victory for Boeing. For months, Alaska has sought to show that a Boeing-approved grease could have corroded key parts on the jet, a theory that would have shifted the focus away from the airline's maintenance practices.

A finding that there wasn't enough grease would place the focus on the plane's maintenance as well as standards of the Federal Aviation Administration.

The review, at NTSB headquarters in Washington, D.C., was attended by investigators, technical experts and representatives of Alaska and Boeing.

The group concluded that virtually all of the facts have been determined and are ready to be analyzed and put into a final report.

A 400-page draft already has been compiled, and investigators say they hope to release their report this fall.

Wednesday's meeting was a key step in the Flight 261 investigation, coming nearly 27 months after the Jan. 31, 2000, crash in which all 88 passengers and crew were killed when the MD-83 plunged into the Pacific Ocean off Southern California.

Participants reviewed the findings of several work groups that looked into different aspects of the crash. The safety board uses a party system to investigate aviation disasters, relying on technical expertise provided by airlines, airframe and engine makers and their suppliers, as well as unions representing pilots, mechanics and ground workers.

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http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/134443631_alaska260.html