As family members and friends struggle to cope with the impacts of Wednesday night’s deadly mid-air collision in Washington, D.C., those lost in another aviation tragedy are being commemorated in Ventura County.
It was a tragedy which shook the nation. On January 31, 2000, Alaska Airlines Flight 261 was headed from Puerto Vallarta to Seattle when a key component in its tail assembly failed.
Despite the efforts of the pilots to regain control, the plane plunged 17,000 feet into the ocean, crashing between Port Hueneme and Anacapa Island. The crash happened at 4:21 p.m., and as darkness closed in, first responders raced to the scene in helicopters and boats to look for survivors.
But, all 83 passengers and five crew members on board died in the crash.
The 25th anniversary of the tragedy brought some family members and friends who were lost to Ventura County for remembrance events.
Some traveled to the scene in a chartered boat to pay their respects.
Friday afternoon, there will be a ceremony at a memorial built on a Port Hueneme beach to commemorate the 88 lives lost in the tragic accident.
