Debbie Nissen Neil, 37, was the lead flight attendant on Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771, which crashed near Cayucos, California, on December 7, 1987. The British Aerospace 146-200A was en route from Los Angeles to San Francisco when it was hijacked by David Burke, a recently terminated former USAir employee. Burke reportedly boarded the flight with a concealed firearm, killed the pilots and other crew members, then caused the aircraft to crash into a hillside, killing all 43 people on board.

The incident prompted a reevaluation of airport screening and airline personnel policies after investigators found Burke had smuggled the weapon aboard despite existing security measures. The crash site near Cayucos is noted as a place of remembrance for the victims.