Stabilizer Flaws Like That in Flight 261 Found in 15 Planes

Problems disconcertingly similar to one found in the horizontal stabilizer wreckage recovered after the crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261 have turned up in at least 15 of the jetliners inspected since the accident, federal officials said Monday. Eight of the 15 are flown by Alaska.

Other stabilizer mechanism problems have been found in eight jets flown by other airlines.

A total of 1,027 U.S.-registered DC-9, MD-80 series, MD-90 series and Boeing 717 jetliners were to be inspected by midnight Monday under a mandatory airworthiness directive issued Thursday by the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA said at least 775 of the planes had been checked by late Monday afternoon, and the deadline probably would be met.

Investigators said that on 15 of the planes, the problems involved metal slivers fouling the stabilizer mechanisms. The bronze slivers apparently had been stripped from the gimbal nut that rides the stabilizer’s jackscrew--a thick, threaded bolt about two feet long.

The investigators say the same thing apparently happened to the stabilizer mechanism of the MD-83 flown on Fight 261. What caused the stripping has not been determined.

The rotating jackscrew moves up and down through the nut, raising and lowering the leading edge of the stabilizer--the wing-like portion of the jetliner’s tail that controls much of the up-and-down pitch of the plane’s nose.

In radio conversations with maintenance personnel and air traffic controllers, the pilots of Flight 261 said they were having difficulty controlling the twin-engine jetliner because of stabilizer problems.

The stabilizer eventually jammed in the full nose-down position, and 12 minutes later the MD-83 spiraled into the Pacific near Anacapa Island, killing all 88 on board.

The FAA provided the following rundown on the checks completed by Monday afternoon:

* At Alaska Airlines, which flies 34 of the aircraft affected by the inspection directive, eight planes had problems, all of them involving metal shavings from the gimbal nut. Four jackscrew assemblies have been replaced and four are being evaluated.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Sunday that during a 1997 inspection, Alaska Airlines maintenance personnel found that the jackscrew mechanism on the MD-83 that would crash three years later was so worn that they briefly considered replacing it. However, after rechecking the mechanism five times, they decided the wear was within specified tolerances and left it on the plane. The mechanism was not checked again before the crash on Jan. 31.

The 1997 inspection took place at Alaska’s Oakland maintenance facility, which has been a target of two federal investigations into allegations that mechanics there falsified inspection records and allowed two “unairworthy” planes to fly. The MD-83 on Flight 261 was not one of them.

* Delta Air Lines flies 136 of the planes. Four planes had problems, one with metal shavings, two with contaminated lubricating grease and one with excessive play in the mechanism. One assembly was replaced, one was lubricated and put back into service, and two are being evaluated.

* AirTran Airlines (the number of its planes covered by the directive was not listed) had problems on three planes, two with contaminated grease and one with excessive play. All three assemblies were replaced.

* Hawaiian Airlines (the number of planes covered by the directive not listed) reported problems with metal shavings on two planes. The assemblies on both were replaced.

* American Airlines, which flies 284 of the planes, had a problem with inadequate lubrication on one. The assembly was greased and the plane went back into service.

* Continental Airlines, which flies 69 of the planes, had a problem with contaminated grease on one. The assembly was replaced.

* Northwest Airlines flies 172 of the planes. One had contaminated grease. The assembly was replaced.

* Trans World Airlines, which flies 103 of the planes, had a problem with shavings on one plane. The disposition was not listed.

* Airborne Express (the number of planes covered by the directive was not listed) had problems on two planes with inadequate lubrication. The assemblies were greased and the planes went back into service.

Meanwhile, in Chicago, the first of what could be many lawsuits was filed in connection with the crash. The suit, filed on behalf of the family of passenger Allen Friedmann, accuses the airline and the jet’s manufacturers of negligence and “willful misconduct” for failing to prevent the crash.

The suit was filed by aviation attorney Robert Clifford in U.S. District Court in Chicago. At the time of the crash, Friedmann, a 48-year-old marketing manager, was preparing to move his family from Chicago to San Francisco.

The complaint names Alaska Airlines, McDonnell Douglas, which built the plane, and Boeing, which subsequently took over McDonnell Douglas.

The airline and Boeing declined comment on the suit.

In Ventura County, officials said remains of 47 people killed in the crash had been recovered and identified. All remains recovered in the crash have been identified and authorities continued Monday to contact family members of the dead, officials said.

The officials said they did not anticipate the recovery of any more remains until the National Transportation Safety Board decides whether to raise the wreckage from the ocean floor. The decision is expected in several weeks.

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Times staff writer Mitchell Landsberg and Times Community News reporter Holly Wolcott contributed to this story.