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(Redirected from Aloha Flight 243) 1988 Hawaii aviation incident

Aloha Airlines Flight 243
Accident
Fuselage remains after the emergency landing
Date	April 28, 1988
Summary	Emergency landing following in-flight structural failure and explosive decompression
Site	near Kahului, Hawaii, United States 20°32′24″N 156°16′48″W / 20.54000°N 156.28000°W / 20.54000; -156.28000
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Boeing 737-297
Aircraft name	Queen Liliuokalani
Operator	Aloha Airlines
Registration	N73711
Flight origin	Hilo International Airport
Destination	Honolulu Int'l Airport (Now Daniel K. Inouye Int'l Airport)
Occupants	95
Passengers	90
Crew	5
Fatalities	1
Injuries	65
Survivors	94

Aloha Airlines Flight 243 (IATA: AQ243, ICAO: AAH243) was a scheduled Aloha Airlines flight between Hilo and Honolulu in Hawaii. On April 28, 1988, a Boeing 737-297 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. Another 65 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

Route of Aloha Airlines Flight 243. In red, the path actually flown, including the emergency landing on Maui, and in blue, the part of the original flight plan that was not flown

Aircraft

The aircraft involved, manufactured in 1969, was a Boeing 737-297 registered as N73711. Prior to the accident, the aircraft had accumulated 35,496 flight hours, those hours in 89,680 flight cycles (takeoffs and landings), owing to its use on short flights. This amounted to more than twice the number of flight cycles for which it was designed. At the time of the accident, Aloha Airlines operated the two highest flight-cycle Boeing 737s in the world, with the accident aircraft being number two.

Crew

In command was 44-year-old Captain Robert Schornstheimer, an experienced pilot with 8,500 flight hours, 6,700 of which were in Boeing 737s. The first officer was 36-year-old Madeline "Mimi" Tompkins, who also had significant experience flying the 737, having logged 3,500 of her total 8,000 flight hours in that particular Boeing model.

Accident

Flight 243 departed from Hilo International Airport at 13:25 HST on April 28, 1988, with five crew members and 90 passengers on board, bound for Honolulu. Nothing unusual was noted during the pre-departure inspection of the aircraft, which had already completed three round-trip flights from Honolulu to Hilo, Maui, and Kauai earlier that day, all uneventful. Meteorological conditions were checked, but no advisories for weather phenomena were reported along the air route, per AIRMETs or SIGMETs.

After a routine takeoff and ascent, the aircraft had reached its normal flight altitude of 24,000 feet (7,300 m), when at around 13:48, about 23 nautical miles (43 km; 26 mi) south-southeast of Kahului on the island of Maui, a section on the left side of the roof ruptured with a "whooshing" sound. The captain felt the aircraft roll to the left and right, and the controls went loose; the first officer noticed pieces of grey insulation floating in the cockpit. The cockpit door had broken away and the captain could see "blue sky where the first-class ceiling had been." A large section of the roof had torn off, consisting of the entire top half of the aircraft skin extending from just behind the cockpit to the fore-wing area, a length of about 18 feet (5.5 m).

The only fatality was that of 58-year-old flight attendant Clarabelle "C.B." Lansing, who was swept out of the airplane while standing near the fifth-row seats; her body was never found. Lansing was a veteran flight attendant of 37 years at the time of the accident. Eight other people suffered serious injuries. All of the passengers had been seated and wearing their seat belts during the depressurization.

First Officer Tompkins was the pilot flying at the time of the accident; Captain Schornstheimer took over controls and performed an immediate emergency descent. The crew declared an emergency and diverted to Kahului Airport for an emergency landing. During the approach to the airport, the left engine failed, and the flight crew was unsure if the nose gear was lowered correctly. Nevertheless, they were able to land normally on Runway 2, 13 minutes after the accident. Upon landing, the aircraft's emergency evacuation slides were deployed and passengers quickly evacuated from the aircraft. Sixty-five people were reported injured, eight of them with serious injuries. At the time, Maui had no plan in place for an emergency of this type. 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 3 miles (4.8 km) from their base) to transport the injured. Two of the Akamai drivers were former paramedics and established a triage on the runway.

Aftermath

Additional damage to the airplane included damaged and dented horizontal stabilizers, both of which had been struck by flying debris. Some of the metal debris had also struck the aircraft's vertical stabilizer, causing slight damage. The leading edges of both wings and both engine cowlings had also sustained damage. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair, dismantled on site and written off.

The piece of the fuselage blown off the aircraft was never found. 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.

In 1995, a garden in Terminal 1 of Honolulu International Airport was named in honor of flight attendant Lansing.

Construction

The accident aircraft was line number 152. All 737s constructed after line number 291 included an additional outer layer of skin or doubler sheet at the lap joint of the fuselage. In the construction of the accident aircraft, this doubler sheet was not used. In the case of production line 292 and after, this doubler sheet gave an additional thickness of 0.91 mm (0.036 in) at the lap joint. For airplane line number 291 and before, cold bonding had been used, with fasteners used to maintain surface contact in the joint, allowing bonding adhesive to transfer load within the joint. This cold-bonded joint used an epoxy-impregnated woven scrim cloth to join the edges of .9 mm thick (0.035 in) skin panels. These epoxy cloths were reactive at room temperature, so they were stored at dry ice temperatures until used in manufacture. The bond cured at room temperature after assembly. The cold-bonding process reduced the overall weight and manufacturing cost. Fuselage hoop loads (circumferential loads within the skins due to pressurization of the cabin) were intended to be transferred through the bonded joint, rather than through the rivets, allowing the use of lighter, thinner fuselage skin panels with no degradation in fatigue life.

The additional outer layer construction improved the joint by:

Eliminating the knife-edge fatigue detail, which resulted from the countersinking of the panels for flush rivets in a disbonded upper skin, and
Eliminating the corrosion concern associated with the scrim cloth, which could wick moisture into the lap joint

Conclusion

The NTSB investigation determined that the quality of inspection and maintenance programs was deficient. Fuselage examinations were scheduled during the night, which made carrying out an adequate inspection of the aircraft's outer skin more difficult.

Also, the fuselage failure initiated in the lap joint along S-10L; the failure mechanism was a result of multiple-site fatigue cracking of the skin adjacent to rivet holes along the lap joint upper rivet row and tear strap disbond, which negated the fail-safe characteristics of the fuselage. Finally, the fatigue cracking initiated from the knife edge associated with the countersunk lap joint rivet holes; the knife edge concentrated stresses that were transferred through the rivets because of lap joint disbonding.

The NTSB concluded in its final report on the accident:

The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the failure of the Aloha Airlines maintenance program to detect the presence of significant disbonding and fatigue damage which ultimately led to failure of the lap joint at S-10L and the separation of the fuselage upper lobe. Contributing to the accident were the failure of Aloha Airlines management to supervise properly its maintenance force; the failure of the FAA to require Airworthiness Directive 87-21-08 inspection of all the lap joints proposed by Boeing Alert Service Bulletin SB 737-53A1039; and the lack of a complete terminating action (neither generated by Boeing nor required by the FAA) after the discovery of early production difficulties in the B-737 cold-bond lap joint, which resulted in low bond durability, corrosion, and premature fatigue cracking.

One board member dissented, arguing that the fatigue cracking was clearly the probable cause, but that Aloha Airlines maintenance should not be singled out because failures by the FAA, Boeing, and Aloha Airlines maintenance each were contributing factors to the disaster.

In popular culture

The events of Flight 243 were featured in "Hanging by a Thread", a season-three (2005) episode of the Canadian television series Mayday (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.

References

"Aloha Airlines Flight 243, April 28, 1988". Star-Advertiser. April 27, 2018. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
Hurley, Timothy (April 28, 2018). "Remembering Aloha Airlines Flight 243". Star-Advertiser. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
^ "Aircraft Accident Report, Aloha Airlines Flight 243, Boeing 737-100, N73711, Near Maui, Hawaii, April 28, 1998" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. June 14, 1989. NTSB/AAR-89/03. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2016. - Copy at Archived January 3, 2024, at the Wayback Machine Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
"FAA report" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 21, 2023.
"Aloha Airlines Flight 243 pilot describes what happened when roof tore off plane". May 9, 2014. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021 – via YouTube.
MacPherson, Malcolm (1998). "27". The Black Box: All-New Cockpit Voice Recorder Accounts Of In-flight Accidents. Harper Paperbacks. pp. 157–161. ISBN 978-0-688-15892-7.
"ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 737-297 N73711 Maui, HI". aviation-safety.net. Archived from the original on June 18, 2017. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
Cooper, Ann Lewis; Rainus, Sharon (2008). "Mimi Tompkins-Aftermath". Stars of the Sky, Legends All: Illustrated Histories of Women Aviation Pioneers. Zenith Press. pp. 138–140. ISBN 978-0-7603-3374-7.
The Honolulu Advertiser (2001). "Engineer fears repeat of 1988 Aloha jet accident". Archived from the original on January 31, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2008.
Russell, Alan; Lee, Kok Loong (2005). Structure-Property Relations in Nonferrous Metals. Wiley-Interscience. p. 70. Bibcode:2005srnm.book.....R. ISBN 978-0-471-64952-6.
"The Aloha incident". Archived from the original on August 22, 2006. Retrieved August 17, 2006.
"Cultural Gardens". Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (hawaii.gov). Archived from the original on January 26, 2024. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
Aloha Airlines Flight 243 incident report - AviationSafety.net Archived October 15, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, accessed July 5, 2014.
"Hanging by a Thread". Mayday. Season 3. Episode 1. 2005. Discovery Channel Canada / National Geographic Channel.
"Ripped Apart". Mayday. Season 6. Episode 1. 2007. Discovery Channel Canada / National Geographic Channel.
"Cultural Gardens". airports.hawaii.gov. Archived from the original on February 18, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
Kelly, Tyler Damara (February 8, 2024). "Vampire Weekend announce first album in five years, Only God Was Above Us". The Line of Best Fit. Archived from the original on February 18, 2024. Retrieved February 18, 2024.

External links

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

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in 1988 (1988)
Jan 2 Condor Flugdienst Flight 3782Jan 18 Aeroflot Flight 699Jan 18 China Southwest Airlines Flight 4146Jan 19 Trans-Colorado Airlines Flight 2286Jan 24 Aeroflot Flight 29674Feb 3 American Airlines Flight 132Feb 8 Nürnberger Flugdienst Flight 108Feb 19 AVAir Flight 3378Feb 27 Talia Airways Boeing 727 crashMar 1 Comair Flight 206Mar 4 TAT Flight 230Mar 8 Aeroflot Flight 3739Mar 17 Avianca Flight 410Apr 5 Kuwait Airways Flight 422Apr 28 Aloha Airlines Flight 243May 6 Widerøe Flight 710May 24 TACA Flight 110Jun 12 Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 046Jun 23 British Army Lynx shootdownJun 26 Air France Flight 296QJul 3 Iran Air Flight 655Jul 13 BIH Sikorsky S-61N crashAug 17 Death of Muhammad Zia-ul-HaqAug 28 Ramstein air show disasterAug 31 CAAC Flight 301Aug 31 Delta Air Lines Flight 1141Sep 9 Vietnam Airlines Flight 831Sep 15 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 604Oct 17 Uganda Airlines Flight 775Oct 19 Indian Airlines Flight 113Nov 2 LOT Polish Airlines Flight 703Dec 8 Remscheid A-10 crashDec 11 Soviet Air Force Il-76 crashDec 21 Pan Am Flight 103
1987 ◄ ► 1989

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1988 (1988)

Jan 2 Condor Flugdienst Flight 3782Jan 18 Aeroflot Flight 699Jan 18 China Southwest Airlines Flight 4146Jan 19 Trans-Colorado Airlines Flight 2286Jan 24 Aeroflot Flight 29674Feb 3 American Airlines Flight 132Feb 8 Nürnberger Flugdienst Flight 108Feb 19 AVAir Flight 3378Feb 27 Talia Airways Boeing 727 crashMar 1 Comair Flight 206Mar 4 TAT Flight 230Mar 8 Aeroflot Flight 3739Mar 17 Avianca Flight 410Apr 5 Kuwait Airways Flight 422Apr 28 Aloha Airlines Flight 243May 6 Widerøe Flight 710May 24 TACA Flight 110Jun 12 Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 046Jun 23 British Army Lynx shootdownJun 26 Air France Flight 296QJul 3 Iran Air Flight 655Jul 13 BIH Sikorsky S-61N crashAug 17 Death of Muhammad Zia-ul-HaqAug 28 Ramstein air show disasterAug 31 CAAC Flight 301Aug 31 Delta Air Lines Flight 1141Sep 9 Vietnam Airlines Flight 831Sep 15 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 604Oct 17 Uganda Airlines Flight 775Oct 19 Indian Airlines Flight 113Nov 2 LOT Polish Airlines Flight 703Dec 8 Remscheid A-10 crashDec 11 Soviet Air Force Il-76 crashDec 21 Pan Am Flight 103

1987 ◄ ► 1989

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States and U.S. territories in the 1980s
1980	Air Wisconsin Flight 965 (June 1980)
1981	Eastern Air Lines Flight 935 (September 1981)
1982	Air Florida Flight 90 (January 13 1982) Thunderbirds Indian Springs Diamond Crash (January 18 1982) World Airways Flight 30 (January 23 1982) Pilgrim Airlines Flight 458 (February 1982) Pan Am Flight 759 (July 9 1982) Twilight Zone accident (July 23 1982) Pan Am Flight 830 (August 1982)
1983	United Airlines Flight 2885 (January 1983) Eastern Air Lines Flight 855 (May 1983) Air Canada Flight 797 (June 2 1983) Reeve Aleutian Airways Flight 8 (June 8 1983) Air Illinois Flight 710 (October 1983) Ozark Air Lines Flight 650 (December 20 1983) Anchorage runway collision (December 23 1983)
1984	Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 901 (February 1984) Vieques Air Link Flight 901A (August 2 1984)* San Luis Obispo mid-air collision (August 24 1984) Provincetown-Boston Airlines Flight 1039 (December 1984)
1985	Galaxy Airlines Flight 203 (January 1985) China Airlines Flight 006 (February 1985) Delta Air Lines Flight 191 (August 2 1985) Bar Harbor Airlines Flight 1808 (August 25 1985) Midwest Express Airlines Flight 105 (September 6 1985) Henson Airlines Flight 1517 (September 23 1985) Teterboro mid-air collision (November 1985) Death of Ricky Nelson (December 1985)
1986	Grand Canyon mid-air collision (June 1986) Aeroméxico Flight 498 (August 1986) Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 1628 incident (November 1986)
1987	SkyWest Airlines Flight 1834 (January 1987) Northwest Airlink Flight 2268 (March 1987) American Eagle Flight 5452 (May 1987)* Northwest Airlines Flight 255 (August 1987) Indianapolis Ramada Inn A-7D Corsair II crash (October 1987) Continental Airlines Flight 1713 (November 1987) Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771 (December 1987)
1988	Trans-Colorado Airlines Flight 2286 (January 1988) American Airlines Flight 132 (February 3 1988) AVAir Flight 3378 (February 19 1988) Aloha Airlines Flight 243 (April 1988) TACA Flight 110 (May 1988) Delta Air Lines Flight 1141 (August 1988)
1989	United Airlines Flight 811 (February 1989) Evergreen International Airlines Flight 17 (March 1989) United Airlines Flight 232 (July 1989) USAir Flight 5050 (September 1989) KLM Flight 867 (December 15 1989) United Express Flight 2415 (December 26 1989)
This list is incomplete. An asterisk (*) denotes an incident that took place in a U.S. territory. 1970–1979 ◄ 1980–1989 ► 1990–1999

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