12.07.21 – Remembering Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771
Tuesday, December 7, 2021
Remembering Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771
On December 7, 1987, PSA Flight 1771, a British Aerospace 146 aircraft, operated from Los Angeles to San Francisco. A recently terminated employee boarded the aircraft in Los Angeles with a firearm. Onboard the aircraft that afternoon was the employee’s former manager, Ray Thomson, responsible for his termination. In an act of revenge and desperation, he shot Thomson and a few other passengers. He then gained access to the cockpit and shot both pilots, causing the aircraft to crash near San Luis Obispo.
Today, we remember and honor San Francisco based-Flight Attendants Debbie Nissen-Neal, Debra Watterson-Vuylsteke, and Flight Attendant trainee Julie Gottesman. We also remember Los Angeles-based Pilots Gregg Lindamood and James Howard Nunn, and PSA and USAir employees Capt. Douglas Arthur, John Conte, and Ray Thomson.