They then notified air traffic control (ATC) and issued a pan radio call, implying that there was a problem of utmost importance, but not yet an emergency (denoted by a mayday call), which would imply immediate danger on board the aircraft. The flight crew did not immediately deem the situation to be of any major concern and simply dismissed the odor as smoke coming from inside the recirculating fans in the ceiling.Īt 6:05 PM, just as the plane was crossing into Washington, the smell of smoke in the cockpit began to grow stronger, at which the pilots became more concerned about the situation.

The flight was uneventful until sometime around 5:58 PM, when the pilots detected an odor reminiscent of smoke in the cockpit. The weather conditions on the evening of Decemwere clear skies with calm surface winds blowing southeast at 1.2 mph. Orbit Flight 774 departed Vancouver International Airport at around 5:19 PM Pacific Daylight Time, bound for Long Beach International Airport, California. The airplane's most recent maintenance check occured on September 18, 1996. First Officer DeRossi had accquired over 19,000 flight hours in MD-80 aircraft. Captain Ferguson had logged more than 23,000 flight hours in MD-80 aircraft, and was also an instructor pilot for the type.

The crew on board the flight consisted of 47-year-old Captain Jack Ferguson, 40-year-old First Officer Franco DeRossi, and 4 flight attendants. The aircraft underwent a minor cockpit renovation in March 1992 before being returned to Orbit Airlines the next month. In 1989, the aircraft was leased to Airwave Airlines and it flew with that airline until 1991. Manufactured in Long Beach in January 1979, it had its first flight on 6 July, 1979, amd was delivered to Orbit Airlines in 1980. The involved aircraft was a McDonnell Douglas MD-80 (Reg. Origin: Vancouver International Airport, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canadaĭestination: Long Beach International Airport, Long Beach, California, USA

The accident aircraft pictured in 1992 in Airwave paint Site: Puget Sound, Seattle, Washington, USAĪircraft Orbit Airlines Flight 774

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