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 Editorials | January 2007 
Jet Crash Forges Bond
 venturacountystar.com
| | For all those who will be gathered today at the memorial, our thoughts and prayers are with you on this seventh anniversary. |
For many, Jan. 31, 2000, will forever be remembered as the day 88 passengers and crew members died in the crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261 off Anacapa Island.
The plane was en route from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to San Francisco and Seattle when it fell from the sky at 4:22 p.m. A failed mechanism in the plane's tail, called a jackscrew, caused the crash, accident investigators determined.
As in past years, relatives and friends will journey today at 3:45 p.m. to a Port Hueneme beach to gather near a memorial sculpture where they will keep alive the memories and reminisce about those who perished that day.
It's hard to imagine the emotional strain and overwhelming grief each will feel as they look out across the ocean toward the crash site or when they hear the name of their son or daughter, husband or wife read aloud, as is the custom at each memorial service.
Joining them will be county and city officials and local residents. Whether affected by the proximity of the crash or by the deep bond forged over the years with the victims and their loved ones, each will pause to remember the passengers and crew of Flight 261 in their own way.
It's also a day to take pride in the incredible response from an armada of local seafaring people and others who unselfishly joined in the massive search for survivors. If only some could have been found.
For all those who will be gathered today at the memorial, our thoughts and prayers are with you on this seventh anniversary. |
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