View source for Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771

{{short description|1987 aircraft hijacking and crash in California}}
{{use mdy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{use American English|date=July 2019}}
{{Infobox aircraft occurrence
| name            = Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771
| occurrence_type = Hijacking
| image           = British Aerospace BAe-146-200A, PSA - Pacific Southwest Airlines AN0070114.jpg
| alt             = 
| caption         = N350PS, the aircraft involved in the hijacking, pictured in 1986
| date            = December 7, 1987
| type            = [[Aircraft hijacking]]; subsequent [[Mass murder|mass]] [[murder–suicide]]
| site            = [[San Luis Obispo County, California|San Luis Obispo County]],<br />near [[Cayucos, California]], U.S.
| coordinates     = {{coord|35|31|20|N|120|51|25|W|region:US-CA_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| occupants       = 43 (including hijacker)<ref name="ASN" />
| passengers      = 38 (including hijacker)
| crew            = 5
| fatalities      = 43 (including hijacker)
| survivors       = 0
| aircraft_type   = [[British Aerospace 146|British Aerospace 146-200A]]
| aircraft_name   = ''[[Stockton, California|The Smile of Stockton]]''
| operator        = [[Pacific Southwest Airlines]]
| IATA            = PS1771
| ICAO            = PSA1771
| callsign        = PSA 1771
| tail_number     = N350PS
| origin          = [[Los Angeles International Airport]],<!--<br />Los Angeles,--> California, U.S.
| stopover        = 
| stopover0       = 
| last_stopover   = 
| destination     = [[San Francisco International Airport]],<!--<br />[[Unincorporated area|Unincorporated]] [[San Mateo County, California]]--> California, U.S.
}}
'''Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771''' was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from [[Los Angeles]] to [[San Francisco]]. On December 7, 1987, the [[British Aerospace 146|British Aerospace 146-200A]], registration N350PS, was intentionally crashed in [[San Luis Obispo County, California|San Luis Obispo County]] near [[Cayucos, California|Cayucos]],<ref name=srapcjc>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=EEYjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=APADAAAAIBAJ&pg=4692%2C6125911 |work=Spokesman-Review |location=Spokane, Washington |agency=Associated Press |title=California jet crash kills 44 |date=December 8, 1987 |page=A1}}</ref><ref name=ffdivpc>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=a68zAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JzIHAAAAIBAJ&pg=3776%2C5100444 |work=Lodi News-Sentinel |location=California |agency=UPI |title=44 die in valley plane crash |date=December 8, 1987 |page=1}}</ref> after being hijacked by a passenger.

All 43 passengers and crew aboard the plane died, five of whom, including the two pilots, were presumably shot dead before the plane crashed. The perpetrator, David<!-- Augustus--> Burke, was a [[Going postal|disgruntled]] former employee of [[USAir]], the parent company of [[Pacific Southwest Airlines]].<ref name=fwntebf>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=E0YjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=APADAAAAIBAJ&pg=7113%2C8413028 |work=Spokesman-Review |location=Spokane, Washington |agency=Associated Press |title=Fired worker's note to ex-boss found |date=December 11, 1987 |page=3}}</ref> The crash was the second-worst mass murder in Californian history, after the similar crash of [[Pacific Air Lines Flight 773]] in 1964. It was the second fatal crash of PSA, after [[Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182]]. The motive for the hijacking and resulting mass murder-suicide was anger towards Burke’s former boss, Ray Thompson, who had refused to reinstate Burke after he had been fired for theft. Thompson was on Flight 1771 and was the first victim.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Molyneaux |first=Ian |date=2023-12-07 |title=Revenge, hijack and mass murder aboard PSA Flight 1771 |url=https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/pacific-southwest-airlines-flight-1771-a-story-of-revenge-hijack-and-murder |access-date=2025-06-22 |website=www.aerotime.aero |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Aircraft and crew ==
The aircraft involved was a [[British Aerospace 146|British Aerospace 146-200A]]. The aircraft was powered by four Lycoming ALF502R-3 turbofan engines.<ref name="ASN">{{cite web |title=ASN Aircraft accident British Aerospace BAe-146-200 N350PS Paso Robles, CA |url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19871207-0 |access-date=19 December 2012 |website=Aviation Safety Network |publisher=[[Flight Safety Foundation]]}}</ref>

The flight crew consisted of Captain Gregg Lindamood (43) and First Officer James Howard Nunn (48), who had been working for the airline since 1973 and March 1987 respectively. Captain Lindamood had 11,000 flight hours, with 1,500 of them on the BAE-146. First Officer Nunn had 12,000 flight hours, but only 300 of them were on the BAE-146.<ref name="victim identification">{{Cite news |date=1987-12-09 |title=41 of 43 Victims Identified With PM-Plane Crash, Bjt |url=https://apnews.com/6d0b2d0cbb2e43848a2f676a3e7e1718 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605144711/https://apnews.com/6d0b2d0cbb2e43848a2f676a3e7e1718 |archive-date=2020-06-05 |access-date=2020-06-05 |work=Associated Press}}</ref> There were three flight attendants on board: Debbie Nissen Neil (37), Debra Watterson Vuylsteke (32), and Julie Gottesman (20), employed by the airline in 1970, 1977, and 1987 respectively.<ref name="victim identification" />

== Incident ==
{{More citations needed section|date=September 2019}}
USAir, which had recently purchased Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA), fired ticketing agent David A. Burke<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/la-me-pacific-southwest-airlines-crash-archive-19871209-story.html|title=From the Archives: Crash of a Pacific Southwest Airlines jetliner centers on fired employee|date=1987-12-09|work=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-12}}</ref> for petty theft of $69 from in-flight cocktail receipts. Burke had also been suspected of involvement with a narcotics ring.<ref name="Kin" /> After meeting with his manager Ray Thompson in an unsuccessful attempt at reinstatement, Burke purchased a ticket for PSA Flight 1771, a daily route from [[Los Angeles International Airport]] (LAX) to [[San Francisco International Airport]] (SFO). Thompson was a passenger on the flight, which he regularly took for his daily commute from his workplace at LAX to his home in the San Francisco Bay Area.<ref name="Braun">{{Cite news |last=Braun |first=Stephen |last2=Ostrow |first2=Ronald J. |date=1987-12-08 |title=Gun-Toting Fired Employee Linked to PSA Plane Crash : Ex-Boss Was Also on Flight |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-12-08-mn-27656-story.html |access-date= |website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> Flight 1771 departed from LAX at 15:31 [[Pacific Standard Time|PST]], scheduled to arrive in San Francisco at 16:43.<ref name="Pollack">{{Cite news |last=Pollack |first=Andrew |date=8 December 1987 |title=California Plane Crash Kills 44; Gunshots Are Reported in Cabin |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/08/us/california-plane-crash-kills-44-gunshots-are-reported-in-cabin.html |access-date=3 April 2018 |work=The New York Times |quote=The flight, PSA 1771, left Los Angeles shortly after 3:30 and was scheduled to arrive in San Francisco at 4:43 P.M.}}</ref>

Using USAir employee credentials that he had not yet surrendered, Burke, armed with a [[Smith & Wesson Model 29]] [[.44 Magnum]] [[revolver]] that he had borrowed from a coworker, bypassed the passenger security checkpoint at LAX.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1987_509927|title=Security badges lost|work=[[Houston Chronicle]]|date=17 December 1987|access-date=22 February 2012|archive-date=October 12, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012051741/http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1987_509927|url-status=dead}}</ref> He gained access to the plane using a locked crew door with its access code scratched above the lock. After boarding the plane, Burke wrote a message on an [[airsickness bag]], but whether he delivered the message to Thompson before shooting him is unknown. The note read:

<blockquote>Hi Ray. I think it's sort of ironical that we end up like this. I asked for some leniency for my family. Remember? Well, I got none and you'll get none.<ref name="Kin"/><ref name="latimes 1987-12-11">{{Cite news |date=1987-12-11 |title=Note of Doom Found in PSA Jet Wreckage : Message Apparently Written by Fired USAir Employee Supports FBI's Theory of Vengeance |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-12-11-mn-18992-story.html |access-date= |work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref><ref name="latimes 1987-12-12">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-12-10-mn-28258-story.html |title=PSA Gunman's Note Told Boss He Was About to Die: Message Written on Paper Bag|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=December 10, 1987|access-date=February 22, 2012}}</ref></blockquote>

The exact sequence of events is unknown, although some details were determined based on information from the aircraft's [[cockpit voice recorder]] (CVR). Because of the poor quality of the recording, it was not possible to decipher everything spoken in the cockpit, nor was it possible to positively attribute words to specific individuals.<ref name="FBI">{{Cite web |title=Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771 |url=https://vault.fbi.gov/pacific-southwest-airlines-flight-1771/pacific-southwest-airlines-flight-1771-part-01-of-01/at_download/file |website=FBI Records Vault |publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation |access-date=April 6, 2022 |archive-date=January 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230127101834/https://vault.fbi.gov/pacific-southwest-airlines-flight-1771/pacific-southwest-airlines-flight-1771-part-01-of-01/at_download/file |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{Reference page|page=348}}

First, the sound of the lavatory door opening was heard. It has been speculated that this was Burke loading the gun and giving Thompson time to read the note. As the aircraft, a four-engined [[British Aerospace]] [[BAe 146-200]], cruised at {{convert|22000|ft|m}} over the central California coast, the CVR recorded either Captain Lindamood or First Officer Nunn asking air-traffic control about reports of turbulence. During the controller's reply, the CVR picked up two "high-level gunshot-like sound[s]".<ref name="FBI" />{{rp|page=349}} Burke had likely shot Thompson at this time.<ref name="latimes 1987-12-11" /> One of the pilots reported twice to the center controller that there had been gunshots fired aboard the aircraft. As the controller asked the pilots whether they wished to divert to Monterey, the sound of the cockpit door opening could be heard, followed by the sound of a female voice, believed to be that of flight attendant Debbie Neil. The only word that could be discerned from this voice on the recording was the word "captain".<ref name="FBI" />{{Reference page|page=349}} This was followed one second later by a male voice saying something that was mostly unintelligible on the recording but ended with the word "problem." The [[FBI]]'s transcript notes that this may have been Burke's voice. Although sources such as the ''[[Mayday (Canadian TV series)|Mayday]]'' episode about Flight 1771 have stated that the complete phrase was "I'm the problem," this does not appear in the official FBI report. Immediately following this exchange, two more gunshot sounds were heard, followed by another gunshot six seconds later.<ref name="FBI" />{{Reference page|page=350}}

Burke shot Neil, Lindamood and Nunn, incapacitating and possibly killing them. Fifteen seconds later, the CVR recorded the sound of the cockpit door opening or closing, as well as increasing windscreen noise as the airplane pitched down and accelerated, indicating either that Burke pushed the control column down and forced the plane into a dive or that the captain or first officer was slumped against it. Thirty-two seconds after the sounds made by the cockpit door, a sixth and final gunshot was heard.<ref name="FBI" />{{Reference page|page=350}} All that could be determined was that this shot occurred in the passenger cabin. Some speculation arose that Burke shot himself, though this seems unlikely because a fragment of Burke's fingertip was lodged in the trigger when the investigators found the revolver. This indicated that he was alive and was holding the gun until the moment of impact.<ref name="Mayday TV Series">{{cite episode| title = I'm The Problem| series = [[Mayday (Canadian TV series)|Mayday]]| credits = Produced in association with: Discovery Channel (Canada), Canal D (Canada) and National Geographic Channel (US & International)| airdate = 10 February 2012| season = 11| number = 10| minutes =40–55}}</ref> The most probable victim was off-duty PSA pilot Douglas Arthur, who was likely trying to enter the cockpit to recover the plane from its dive. For the remainder of the recording, the sound of windscreen noise and "distant voices" could be heard.<ref name="FBI" />{{Reference page|page=350}}

At 4:16&nbsp;p.m., the plane crashed into a hillside on the Santa Rita cattle ranch<ref name="King">{{Cite news |last1=King |first1=Peter H. |last2=Malnic |first2=Eric |date=December 9, 1987 |title=From the Archives: Crash of a Pacific Southwest Airlines jetliner centers on fired employee |url=https://www.latimes.com/la-me-pacific-southwest-airlines-crash-archive-19871209-story.html |access-date=October 11, 2023 |work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> in the [[Santa Lucia Range|Santa Lucia Mountains]] between [[Paso Robles, California|Paso Robles]]<ref name="badge">{{cite news|url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1987_509928|title=Ex-worker's badge found|work=[[Houston Chronicle]]|date=16 December 1987|access-date=22 February 2012|archive-date=October 3, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003143427/http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1987_509928|url-status=dead}}</ref> and Cayucos. The plane was estimated to have crashed at a speed slightly faster than [[speed of sound|that of sound]], around {{convert|770|mph|kn m/s km/h|abbr=on}}, disintegrating instantly. Based on the deformation of the titanium flight-data recorder case, the aircraft experienced a [[g-force|deceleration]] of {{convert|5000|g-force|m/s/s|abbr=on}} when it hit the ground. It was traveling around a 70° angle toward the south. The plane struck a rocky hillside, leaving a crater less than {{convert|2|ft|m|spell=in}} deep and {{convert|4|ft|m|spell=in}} across. Only 11 of the passengers were ever identified.<ref name="Wrigley">{{Cite web |last=Wrigley |first=Sylvia |date=November 13, 2020 |title=I am the problem: PSA flight 1771 |url=https://fearoflanding.com/accidents/accident-reports/i-am-the-problem-psa-flight-1771/ |access-date=October 11, 2023 |website=Fear of Landing}}</ref>

Investigators from the [[National Transportation Safety Board]] (NTSB) and [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI) determined that Burke was responsible for the crash based on the discovery of parts of a handgun containing six spent cartridge cases and a note written by Burke on an airsickness bag.<ref name="check6">{{cite web |date=7 December 1987 |title=PSA Flight 1771 |url=http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/PSA-1771_N450PS.htm |access-date=19 December 2012 |website=Check-six.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130816082150/http://check-six.com/Crash_Sites/PSA-1771_N450PS.htm|archive-date=2013-08-16}}</ref> Other evidence connected Burke to the flight, such as an answering machine message that he had left for his estranged girlfriend.<ref name="check6" />

== David A. Burke ==
[[File:David A. Burke.png|thumb|upright|David Burke]]
'''David Augustus Burke''' (18 May 1952 – 7 December 1987) was born in [[Croydon]], Surrey, England to [[Jamaica]]n parents. Burke later emigrated to the United States with his parents. He had previously worked for USAir in [[Rochester, New York]], where he was a suspect in a drug-smuggling ring that was bringing [[cocaine]] from Jamaica to Rochester via the airline. Never officially charged, he reportedly relocated to Los Angeles to avoid future suspicions.<ref name="Kin">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/11/us/kin-of-suspect-defiant-and-contrite.html|title=Kin of Suspect Defiant and Contrite|first=Judith|last=Cummings|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=11 December 1987|access-date=22 February 2012}}</ref><ref name="check6"/> Some former girlfriends and neighbours, and even law enforcement officials, described him as a violent man.<ref name="Violent side">{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1987/12/11/jet-crash-suspect-had-violent-side/ |title=Jet Crash Suspect Had Violent Side|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=11 December 1987|access-date=22 February 2012}}</ref> He had seven children by four women,<ref name="Magnuson">{{Cite magazine|url = http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,145653,00.html|title = David Burke's Deadly Revenge|magazine = Time|date = June 24, 2001|last1 = Magnuson|first1 = Ed|access-date = July 7, 2021|archive-date = November 15, 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201115025513/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,145653,00.html|url-status = dead}}</ref> but never married.<ref name="Kin"/>

== Aftermath ==
Several federal laws were passed after the crash, including a law that requires "immediate seizure of all airline and airport employee credentials" after an employee's termination, resignation, or retirement from an airline or airport position.<ref name="Pescador">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=whp_Vj4vCkYC|title=San Diego International Airport, Lindbergh Field|last1=Pescador|first1=Katrina|last2=Renga|first2=Alan|last3=Gay|first3=Pamela|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|year=2012|isbn=978-0-7385-8908-4|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=whp_Vj4vCkYC&pg=PA110 110]}}</ref> A policy was also implemented stipulating that all airline flight crew and airport employees are subject to the same security measures as are airline passengers.<ref name="Malnic">{{cite news |last1=Malnic |first1=Eric |date=5 June 1989 |title=PSA Crash Liability Case May Hinge on Airport Security |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-06-05-me-1233-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |quote=... the Federal Aviation Administration changed security procedures as a result of the incident.}}</ref>

The crash ([[Collateral damage|unintentionally]] by Burke) killed the president of [[Chevron USA]], James Sylla, along with three of the company's public-affairs executives.<ref name="Fisher">{{cite news|last1=Fisher|first1=Lawrence|title=4 Chevron Officials Died in Air Crash|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/09/us/4-chevron-officials-died-in-air-crash.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=December 9, 1987|access-date=24 December 2015}}</ref> Also killed were three officials of [[Pacific Bell]], prompting many large corporations to create policies to forbid travel by multiple executives on the same flight.<ref name="Lapidos">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2010/04/do_obama_and_biden_always_fly_in_separate_planes.html|title=Do Obama and Biden Always Fly in Separate Planes?|first=Juliet|last=Lapidos|magazine=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|date=13 April 2010|access-date=22 February 2012}}</ref>

In the "Garden of Hope" section of the [[Los Osos, California|Los Osos]] Valley Memorial Park, a granite and bronze marker honours the 42 victims of Flight 1771, and several of the passengers and crew are buried in the cemetery.<ref name="memorial">{{cite web|url=https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC3CVJ3_psa-flight-1771-memorial-cache?guid=596c964c-d4b7-4a6b-8aa3-09fec78ab1f6|title=PSA Flight 1771 Memorial Cache|work=Geocaching|access-date=22 October 2017}}</ref>

== Dramatization ==

An episode of the Canadian documentary TV series ''[[Mayday (Canadian TV series)|Mayday]]'' titled "I'm the Problem" ("Murder on Board" for UK broadcasts) chronicled the events of Flight 1771 and its ensuing investigation.<ref name="Mayday TV Series" />

The incident and aftermath were featured in Episode 113 of the [[Rooster Teeth]] podcast ''Black Box Down''.<ref name="Black Box Down episode 113">{{cite web| url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBXW97lk028| title=Hijacker Murders All 43 Passengers/Crew on Commuter Flight| date=April 13, 2023| first1=Gustavo| last1=Sorola| first2=Chris| last2=Demarais| publisher=[[Rooster Teeth]]}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Aviation safety]]
* [[Pacific Air Lines Flight 773]] was a similar mass-murder/suicide in 1964.
* [[United Airlines Flight 93]], an attempted hijack to fly into the [[United States Capitol|U.S. Capitol]], part of the [[September 11 attacks]].
* [[Samuel Byck]] attempted to hijack an airliner to fly into the White House in 1974.
* [[List of accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft]]
* [[List of aviation incidents involving terrorism]]
* [[List of Mayday episodes|List of ''Mayday'' episodes]]
* [[List of homicides in California]]
* {{section link|List of accidents and incidents involving airliners in the United States|California}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links==
{{Spoken Wikipedia|En-Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771-article.oga|date= 2013-10-26}}
*[https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/15893/pdf Official NTSB Summary]
*[http://www.jetpsa.com/memorial/memorial.html PSA Flight 182 & 1771 Memorial Page] at [http://www.jetpsa.com/ The PSA History Museum] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20090719104634/http://www.jetpsa.com/memorial/memorial.html Archive])
*[http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19871207-0 Aviation Safety Network criminal occurrence description]

{{Aviation incidents and accidents in 1987}}
{{Aviation incidents and accidents in the United States in the 1980s}}
{{Mass shootings in the United States in the 1980s and before}}
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[[Category:1987 in California]]
[[Category:1987 mass shootings in the United States]]
[[Category:1987 murders in the United States]]
[[Category:Accidents and incidents involving the British Aerospace 146]]
[[Category:Aircraft hijackings in the United States]]
[[Category:Airliner accidents and incidents caused by hijacking]]
[[Category:Airliner accidents and incidents in California]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1987]]
[[Category:Airliner accidents and incidents involving deliberate crashes]]
[[Category:Attacks in the United States in 1987]]
[[Category:1980s crimes in California]]
[[Category:December 1987 crimes in the United States]]
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in California]]
[[Category:History of San Luis Obispo County, California]]
[[Category:Mass murder in 1987]]
[[Category:Mass murder in California]]
[[Category:Mass murder in the United States in the 1980s]]
[[Category:Mass shootings in California]]
[[Category:Murder–suicides in California]]
[[Category:Pacific Southwest Airlines accidents and incidents|1771]]
[[Category:Hijackings in the 1980s]]