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Wednesday, February 2, 2000
Alaska employees choke back tears as they deal with their loss
Of the 88 believed dead, over 30 were employees; aftermath has been 'pretty brutal'
Associated Press
SEATAC, Wash. - Alaska Airlines employees choked back tears and offered each other hugs as they returned to work Tuesday, hours after Flight 261 crashed off the California coast.
Of the 88 aboard, more than 30 were company employees, their friends and families returning home from vacation.
It's been "pretty brutal," said Alaska spokesman Jack Evans. "I think the impact still hasn't hit us."
The mood was somber at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport as employees resumed their workdays, checking in passengers and boarding flights for other destinations.
When asked about Flight 261, which fell from the sky Monday, two employees at the check-in counter started crying. The airline brought in grief counselors to talk to employees. Many were instructed not to talk to reporters.
Aside from three flight attendants from Seattle, there were three Alaska employees, four employees from Alaska's sister airline, Horizon, and 25 of their friends and family. They were all taking advantage of free employee standby passes for vacations to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
"Words fail me. Emotions flood. It still seems unbelievable," company Chairman and CEO John F. Kelly said in a statement. "With our excellent safety record, we haven't had to deal with an accident such as this in over a quarter of a century, so this is new to the vast majority of us."
Airline employees were not the only ones grieving. At John Hay Elementary in Seattle's Queen Anne neighborhood, the flag was lowered to half-staff in memory of four students - three first-graders and one second-grader - who were on Flight 261.
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