12.07.20 – Thirty-Three Years Later: We Remember PSA Flight 1771

Monday, December 7, 2020

Thirty-Three Years Later: We Remember PSA Flight 1771

On December 7, 1987, PSA Flight 1771, a British Aerospace 146 aircraft, was scheduled to operate from Los Angeles to San Francisco. A recently terminated USAir employee, David Burke, boarded the aircraft in Los Angeles with a firearm. Onboard the aircraft that afternoon was Burke’s former manager, Ray Thomson, responsible for his termination. In the act of revenge and desperation, David Burke 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.

Please remember, we have 7,985 involuntarily furloughed Flight Attendants at American Airlines.