The stakes are high for the Alaska Air Flight 261 inquiry, as the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairwoman warns.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) began its investigation on Thursday into what caused Alaska Airlines Flight 261 to plunge into the ocean off the coast of California on January 31 killing all 88 people aboard the plane.
NTSB Chairwoman Marion Blakey has made it clear that the stakes are high and that the inquiry will be conducted with utmost commitment and seriousness. “This investigation will be an intensive, thorough and professional endeavor,” she said.
The investigation could take anywhere from several months to a year to complete. Investigators are looking into the airline and maintenance crew performance, possible airplane malfunctions and the weather conditions at the time of the crash.
Investigators are also trying to recreate the flight path of the doomed jet, and according to them, much of the evidence being gathered in this case will come from wreckage, such as the plane’s tail fin, found on an island off the coast of California.
The NTSB Chairwoman has said that she has no doubt that the inquiry will “provide valuable information” to the airlines, to general public and to the entire aviation community. Such an event should never happen again,” she said.
With so much at stake in this very important inquiry, the NTSB is trying to pursue every lead in order to ensure that everyone learns as much as possible from this tragedy. There is no room for speculation or guesswork, as the NTSB’s Chairwoman makes it very clear: “We owe it to the remembering those lost and to preventing similar tragedies in the future.