Aloha Airlines Flight 243 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight flown by Aloha Airlines between Hilo and Honolulu in Hawaii. On April 28, 1988,<!--Use the American date format--> the Boeing 737-297 airplane serving the flight suffered extensive damage after an explosive decompression in flight, caused by part of the fuselage breaking due to poor maintenance and metal fatigue. The plane was able to land safely at Kahului Airport on Maui. The one fatality, flight attendant Clarabelle "C.B." Lansing, was ejected from the airplane. Sixty-five passengers and crew were injured. The substantial damage inflicted by the decompression, the loss of one cabin crew member, and the safe landing of the aircraft established the accident as a significant event in the history of aviation, with far-reaching effects on aviation safety policies and procedures.

Background

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a Boeing 737-297 registered as N73711, manufactured in 1969. Prior to the accident, it had accumulated 35,496 flight hours in 89,680 flight cycles (takeoffs and landings), owing to its use on short flights; however, this also meant that the maximum altitude and pressure differential was not reached on every flight, so the number of equivalent full pressurization cycles was significantly less. who also had significant experience flying the 737, having logged 3,500 of her total 8,000 flight hours in that model. a length of about .

First Officer Tompkins was the pilot flying at the time of the accident; Captain Schornstheimer took over controls and performed an immediate emergency descent. Sixty-five people were reported injured, eight of them seriously. At the time, Maui had no plan in place for such an emergency. The injured were taken to the hospital in tour vans belonging to Akamai Tours, driven by office personnel and mechanics, as the island only had two ambulances. Air traffic control radioed Akamai and requested as many of their 15-passenger vans as they could spare to go to the airport (which was from their base) to transport the injured. Two of the Akamai drivers were former paramedics and established a triage on the runway. Investigation by the U. S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded that the accident was caused by metal fatigue exacerbated by crevice corrosion. The aircraft was 19 years old and operated in a coastal environment, with exposure to salt and humidity.

During an interview, passenger Gayle Yamamoto told investigators that she had noticed a crack in the fuselage upon boarding, but did not notify anyone.

Construction

The accident aircraft was line number 152. All 737s starting with line number 292 included an additional outer layer of skin or doubler sheet at the lap joint of the fuselage, (called Air Emergency and Air Disasters in the U.S. and Air Crash Investigation in the UK and elsewhere around the world). The flight was also included in Mayday season six (2007) Science of Disaster special titled "Ripped Apart".

  • The story of Flight 243 was the subject of the 1990 made-for-television movie called Miracle Landing.
  • A memorial garden was opened in 1995 to honor Lansing at Honolulu International Airport.
  • It is featured in season 1, episode 2, of the television show Why Planes Crash, in an episode called "Breaking Point".
  • The Vampire Weekend album Only God Was Above Us is named after a New York Daily News article about the accident.

See also

  • United Airlines Flight 811, also in Hawaii, an accident in which a cargo door failure caused explosive decompression and nine passengers were ejected from the aircraft and killed, but the crew was able to perform a safe landing, 1989<!-- Why is this listed here? This was a cargo door failure, not a fuselage failure, and metal fatigue was not an identified factor (as far as I notice). Other door-related incidents and accidents are not listed here. -->
  • Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 103, an identical aircraft type, immediately adjacent on the production line, with line number 151, which disintegrated in midair due to metal fatigue cracking and severe corrosion, killing all 110 on board, 1981
  • China Airlines Flight 611, a Boeing 747-200 that suffered a structural failure after a maintenance error was made in fixing fatigue cracking from a tail strike 22 years earlier, resulting in death of all 225 aboard, 2002
  • Japan Air Lines Flight 123, a flight that suffered a structural failure also caused by a poor repair after encountering a tail strike seven years earlier, 520 killed and 4 injured, 1985
  • Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101, a flight that suffered a structural failure and separation of a wing from the fuselage due to metal fatigue, resulting in death of all 20 aboard, 2005
  • List of notable decompression accidents and incidents

References

  • Pre-incident photos of N73711
  • Aloha Air 243, film of rescue operation, with passenger interviews – documentary clip