NEWS MEDIA ARRANGEMENTS FOR NTSB'S ALASKA AIRLINES HEARING

Television coverage will be by pool only, with on-site distribution provided by ABC. Tables will be set up outside the Conference Center for video equipment. Escorted cutaway shooting will be permitted for brief periods. No television interviews will be permitted in the Conference Center during the course of the meeting. Still photographers will be permitted on the camera riser in the Board Room.

Limited seating has been set aside for correspondents in the Board Room. A media room is also available that has tables, chairs and an audio mult box. Generally-accepted media credentials will be required for access to both areas.
Seating for the general public in the Board Room is on a first-come, first-served basis. The meeting will also be simultaneously web cast on the Board's web page, www.ntsb.gov.

The public docket for this investigation will be opened on the first day of the hearing at 10 a.m.  The CVR of the accident aircraft will be available after opening statements.  Testimony at the hearing will be added to the factual record.  No analysis of that information will be rendered by the Safety Board at the hearing.

Alaska Airlines flight 261 crashed into the Pacific Ocean, near Port Hueneme, California on January 31, 2000 while on a scheduled flight from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to San Francisco, California.  All 88 aboard died.
 
Security Information: Standard federal security procedures for the new Board Room and Conference Center will be utilized.  All persons wishing entry to the facility and their possessions will be subject to inspection and will need to show photo ID. Persons leaving the facility will have to pass through screening again to gain re-entry.

The NTSB's Board Room is located at 429 L'Enfant Plaza, SW, Washington, DC.

A final report is expected to be issued sometime next year.