James Howard Nunn was a 48-year-old First Officer who died on December 7, 1987, when Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771 crashed near Cayucos, California, after an onboard shooting. The flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco was taken over by David Burke, a recently fired USAir employee who brought a concealed .44 Magnum revolver onto the aircraft. Burke shot multiple people, including his former supervisor Ray Thomson and members of the cockpit crew, and the cockpit voice recorder captured the confrontation and subsequent loss of control.

All 43 passengers and crew aboard were killed when the plane struck a hillside at high speed. The incident exposed weaknesses in airline security at the time and led to reviews of passenger screening and employment-related access. The families of the victims, including Nunn’s, pursued legal action following the crash.

If anyone knew James Howard Nunn or has information about him or his work on that flight, please share what can help remember him.