Plane crashes are always terrifying to read about — but few are as nightmarish as Alaska Airlines Flight 261.

Now, 25 years after the aircraft plunged into the Pacific Ocean, newly released cockpit audio is sending chills down spines.

A chilling reminder
It was supposed to be a routine flight. On January 31, 2000, Alaska Airlines Flight 261 took off from the palm tree-lined Puerto Vallarta airport, Mexico, heading for Seattle with a stop in San Francisco.Final act of bravery
While trying to troubleshoot the issue, Captain Thompson engaged multiple switches related to the stabilizer trim system. The worn Acme nut — already holding on by a thread — finally failed.

The stabilizer shifted to its full nose-down position, and the aircraft violently pitched forward.

“We’re in a dive,” Captain Thompson radioed. Then he corrected himself: “Not a dive yet, but we’ve lost vertical control of our airplane.”

First Officer Tansky added grimly: “No we don’t.”

They managed to pull out of the initial dive, displaying incredible strength and skill. But the plane was fatally damaged. The jackscrew mechanism broke completely.

In a final act of bravery, Thompson rolled the plane upside down — flying inverted in a desperate attempt to regain control. It was a move few pilots could have executed, let alone under such pressure.

But it wasn’t enough.

The aircraft slammed into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California, killing all 88 on board.Their final flight is more than a story of loss — it’s a stark warning of what happens when safety takes a back seat to convenience.

But it’s also a story of valor. Of two pilots who refused to give up and of a tragedy that shook an industry — and a legacy that still echoes 25 years later.