Part 6/8:
The situation spiraled out of control, with structural integrity of the aircraft compromised and speed errors triggering warnings onboard. Just when it seemed there was no hope, a final catastrophic event occurred; the jack screw had fully failed, leading the plane's horizontal stabilizer to swing beyond its normal range, and plunging the aircraft into an uncontrollable vertical nosedive.
An Uncontrollable Plunge
In an act of last-ditch ingenuity, the pilots attempted an extreme maneuver to invert the plane, somehow buying themselves a few precious seconds. But their heroic efforts came too late. With the aircraft unable to recover, Flight 261 crashed into the ocean off the coast of Los Angeles, claiming the lives of all 88 on board.