Alaska Air Flight 261 Memorial Sundial

The Hueneme Beach Sundial Memorial commemorates the 88 passengers and crew who lost their lives aboard Alaska Airlines Flight 261 near Anacapa Island on January 31, 2000. The Memorial features a 36-foot diameter concrete plaza with a curving sand wall and seating area and a raised sundial in the center. Watch the 20th anniversary memorial video.

Designed and executed by prominent Santa Barbara sculptor James “Bud” Bottoms, the sundial’s bronze dolphins and gnomon cast a shadow on the 20-foot diameter dial face oriented to Pacific Standard Time. Names of each of the victims are inscribed on individual bronze plates mounted on the perimeter of the dial.

The Site

The crash site is located between the mainland at Port Hueneme and Anacapa Island, one of the smallest islands in the Channel Islands chain, 14 miles offshore. Families of the lost passengers and crew dedicated the sundial as both a memorial to their loved ones and a work of public art in gratitude to the residents of Port Hueneme for their compassion and tireless assistance in the recovery effort.

Visitors

Visitors may access the Sundial Memorial from Hueneme Beach parking lot B off Surfside Drive near the gazebo.