How this Boeing 737 lost it’s ROOF! | Aloha Airlines flight 243
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- Опубликовано: 1 окт 2020
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On the 28th of April 1988 an Aloha Airlines Boeing 737-200 took of from Hilo Airport in Hawaii for a routine short flight over to Honolulu. This flight turned out to be anything but normal. As the aircraft reached its cruising altitude of 24000 feet, the entire front section of the roof in the aircraft passenger cabin suddenly broke loose.
In this episode I will give you a full synopsis of the accident, including my own view as a pilot on how the crew handled it and in the second half of the video I will explain why it happened and all technical aspects of this incident.
I would love to hear what you thought about the video, let me know in the comments below and remember to like the video and subscribe to the channel!
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Below you will find the links to videos and sources used in this episode. Enjoy checking them out!
Final accident report: www.ntsb.gov/investigations/A...
TheFlightchannel: Aloha Airlines flight 243
• How These Pilots Lande...
'In an emergency, oxygen masks will drop down from the roof...Oh wait a minute...'
gallows humor, the best humor...
😄😄
🤣
Plenty of oxygen rushing by, though, absolutely speaking. Hyperventilating would also ensue naturally.
In Russian plane, backup system comes up between your legs, comrade.
I was on a flight recently where the pilot informed us that a bird strike had occurred on the previous flight. He said that they were going to delay the flight till they were certified to take off by an inspection team. The guys sitting in front of me started complaining about it, saying they were wasting time, but I was grateful that they cared enough about keeping the aircraft operational and safe.
Ask the guy if he would complain about dying....
I had a similar situation. We were getting ready to push back from the gate when the captain said that there had been a bird strike near the tail on the previous flight which left a small dent that had to be measured. I don't know what the specs were but aviation enthusiasts would know, it couldn't exceed a certain width, length, and depth. He even told us what it was at the time. He was very transparent about what was happening, which put everyone at ease because we weren't just sitting there nervously watching maintenance people outside the aircraft with no idea what was going on. Everyone relaxed and took it in stride, knowing this meant the dimple would either be out of range and we would deplane and switch aircraft or it would be within tolerance and we'd take off. Everyone was actually pretty cheerful. I didn't hear any complaints. In fact, all around me people were laughing & saying "better safe than sorry," and joking about the condition of the bird. It turned out not to be serious enough to ground the plane and we took off. But the key was the captain's transparency. It was only because he was completely honest with us and detailed about what was going on that nobody was concerned about the delay.
Some people are both stupid and ignorant. They would have been the first to call their lawyers if an "event" happened!
that guy sounds like the kind of guy to start a fight and then sue the other person for fighting him. when he was the one who threw the first punch
"Engine failure after takeoff", I can't believe this airline would put my life at risk like this, I am going to sue!
Your 2 co-pilots look so calm and serene, snoozing on the couch, even while you describe such a stressful situation. I'd trust them to get me out of any jam. 😌
but what is the two legged dog still barking on?
Are you sure that those two are co-pilots and not maintenance department? xD
Annoying and distracting.
Me and my OCD: I kept wanting to turn the green cushion over. 😁
@@Twobarpsi Like ya mom 😂
Michelle Honda is the name of the flight attendant who was at Row 15. She actually crawled through the section that blew off to get to the other attendant who was severely injured. And did her best to help the passengers- simply AMAZING.
Such a heroic woman ❤
and then there are people who treat flight attendants like shit because they didn't get their peanuts
@@armin3057literally!!! flight attendants don’t get nearly enough appreciation
My biggest takeaway was the crew member that was crawling up and down the aisles trying to reassure the passengers that everything would be okay. She deserves some kind of medal for bravery
And a big fat retirement bonus. She shouldn't have to fly or work again.
The whole crew sounds like they deserve awards. The pilots appear to have done pretty nearly flawlessly under the circumstances, circumstances they couldn't have really trained for, not entirely.
I second that!! 🏆🥇🏅🏅
Clarabelle "CB" Lansing had more than 30 years of experience as a flight attendant and is really heartbreaking that they never found her body. May she rest in peace
May her death have been quick and painless.
God bless you Clarabelle
May god welcome her home.
maybe she survived and decided to live away from civilization
One of the reasons I never fly Boeing if possible they are still building planes that you have to trust not to fall apart in flight just look at their new junk 737 Nax
CB began her career BEFORE Jet Airliners! 37 years experience on this day. CB was the GOAT! Flight Crews deserve Respect, but are often taken for granted by Passengers.
RIP CB! ❤🫶
I was an RN working at the hospital a mile from the airport on Maui when this happened. It was my day off, but I got a call from the hospital saying there was a level 3 disaster and asking me to come in. I knew not to waste time asking what it was. I hung up and headed in. On the way, I passed the airport and sitting on the tarmac was a plane that looked like it had been opened up with a can opener. The hospital was packed with all the passengers being triaged by what looked to be every single healthcare provider on the island. Most of the passengers had cuts and eye irritations. Five were more serious. I heard stories of passengers in the aisle seats holding onto those buckled into the window seats where there was no wall. I understand the phenomenon of not really seeing something critically that has never occurred before, even with the bulletins. That is the problem with unprecedented occurrences. That it happened first (and probably last) in our heavily salty air with very high cycles, is not surprising either. I used to windsurf on a beach right next to the airport. After the accident, we could turn around and see that torn apart aircraft sitting there for weeks. Very sad, but a fantastic job by the crew, first responders, and the hospital.
I can't imagine the chaos in that ER. It must have been busy already (the ER always is), and then 150 passengers crowding in there all at once must have been overwhelming. Good for you for just dropping everything to go and help these people, to try and ease the tension on the hospital
As a fellow RN, I applaud your devotion and swift, appropriate response! Inspirational truly.
Wow! Maui Memorial?
Thank you for your dedicated service to the medical industry ❤ I can’t imagine the horror of seeing that shredded aircraft on your way to the hospital that day. Horrible.
@@trumpetmama82 Yep, the one and only.
This sounds silly, but one of the things I really like about this channel is the conversation aspect of it. The periodic stumbling over words, gathering thoughts and er/ums make it so much easier to listen to because it’s like we’re just sitting down with coffee talking about the accident. The video is not over edited to “perfection” and I actually like that a lot. Keep it up!
His voice is already soothing and I think that the conversational aspect makes it even more relaxing.
And when he sometimes pauses after a paragraph and says: "Okay? ... okay." as if he sees you on the other side of the camera nodding along:))
@@SasquachPL I think at one point when he was explaining the glue he said, "You with me still ?" I wasn't but kept watching and listening. Love the way he explains everything and I can usually follow and understand it all but some of the really technical stuff I'd have to watch two or three times before it sunk in if it was important enough for me to do so. It isn't. I'll let the investigators sort this stuff out.
Very true. Natural conversation. I love that about people who show that they are actually pausing to think. Which means they're doing this completely authentically as opposed to the fakery of Mainstream Media and Co. where it feels like we're just the guinea pigs for alreadyprepared propaganda programs in a simulation.
Great comment
I love how the two dogs fell asleep during storytelling
They're like, "Oh not this story again.."
I imagined they were dreaming while listening to the story subconsciously. Can you imagine being a dog, hearing and only understanding maybe 15% of the story and dreaming about chewing on a cable? Suddenly you wake up and think its your fault the plane crashed. I know its absurd. I mean, I'm a human and awake and I only understood maybe 30% of the story.
I think the dogs were comforted by their master's voice and got lulled to sleep happily by his side!
What dogs?
wheelspk fails
Flex Seal
Would have worked
I use it on my gutters
Being a trained accident investigator myself (but for trains) I find these videos really well made.
Much more factual and less "sensational" then commercially produced "Air Crash Investigations" type TV shows.
Keep up the good work!
I forgot that trains exist
The US Chemical Safety Board also does very good videos about accidents
I remember in the 90s aero clubs had vhs series of crashes and investigations. I would watch them as my dad did all the plane check out paperwork.
@@counterfit5 I binged those so hard.
Let the fbi in to your investigation if you want sensationalized crap. Twa 800 anyone.
Mentour, my uncle Don Carlsmith, was on this flight seated in first class. Flight attendant Lansing had just given him a cup of pineapple juice when she was sucked out of the plane. My uncle suffered lacerations to his head and shoulders from the flying debris. Amazing job of the pilots to get the plane on the ground and land safely. Thanks for this really informative video.
I saw some photos that there's her blood in the fuselage. Can your uncle confirmed that she hit the fuselage on that accident? Poor purser.
She had served so many cups of pineapple juice with a smile that God lost his patience and could no longer tolerate her not being with Him.
Then he noticed the perfect setup to kill one bird and a foolish management with one stone.
@@Dowlphin You are disrespecting her memory with comments like that. Not cool.
@@MrSmellymonkeyman Take that grievance up with God.
We have been given free will, so we can choose how to look at things, including spreading doom and gloom on top of the inevitable nature of death like you do.
@@Dowlphin edgy.
I’m a fuselage structure mechanic with 15 years experience, and I’m damn impressed with how concisely you explained the basics of the design to illustrate how the lap join cracking developed and caused the failure. Well done sir.
Is the 737-300 designed differently so this can't happen?
My fathers friend was a passenger on that flight, when the decompression happened, he had all of the oxygen sucked out of his lungs and had great difficulty starting to breathe again. He said it was absolutely terrifying and thought he was going to die. As they were landing he realised his shoes had been sucked off his feet and were gone.
I worked with a guy who was on that flight. In normal conversation at work, he was always the type to throw in a joke or two. But when this flight came up, I've never seen anyone so serious in my life.
is that how sudden decompression works? i always thought you dont notice it and you slowly become essentially drunk and then pass out by lack of oxygen, i was not aware you can have air sucked out of your lungs, i just don't think it works like that but I don't know so thats why im asking, if anyone knows.
@@Auron710 this is explosive decompression there is also the slower decompression both are dangerous but the explosive type is hard to miss.
@@Auron710 it would suck the air out of you because of the difference in pressure that is why the cabin ruptured also
@@Auron710 In the past I was driving motorbikes. That is ok as long as the speed stays under 160 km/h. When you go faster till 195 km/h, it feels like the wind is trying to rip off your helmet with a force equal to a bucket of water of 10L, equaling 10 kg. I did not experience faster speeds on a bike, but went on in windturbine design. There is a lot of power in air and wind, which is air in motion, but also in vacuum, which is the lack of air. Nice things to play with in windpower design…
Flight attendant Michelle Honda was BEYOND heroic! Michelle crawled up the aisle putting lifejackets on passengers and preventing panic in the cabin.
Might be thinking of a different flight, but I think she even had to hop across the open area of the plane. Absolutely terrifying
@@SuperNuclearUnicorn Did she keep up drinks service?
@@absofjelly you might be a little chady with your badasseness but are you chad enough to keep the drinking service up?
balls of steel weighing her down onto the floor
@@cirno9356 most underrated comment
Mentor Pilot: "I want you to remember that flying is very safe....OK, now imagine being in a plane where the roof gets RIPPED OFF!!!"
In all seriousness though, you really are doing aviation a great service. I hope you get officially recognized for it some day. Keep up the great work.
the insane part is that the roof got ripped off, pieces got into the engines, and they STILL managed to land safely.
It is astonishing how an aircraft can lose so much of its fuselage and not totally disintegrate.
Without doubt one of the most interesting and absolutely professional channels on the net today.
Thank you so much for your kind words.
@@MentourPilot hi! i'm a brand new subscriber who has been fascinated w/airplanes & flight from the earliest of my (now) 65 years! (used to attempt to 'design' airplanes when i was a child) your videos (i've watched at least 10 already in the few days i've been a subscriber) are compelling and full of actual facts, experiental references and insight, sans sensationalism! can't remember what vid i was watching that led yt algorithm to recommend one of your vids, but i'm sure glad it did! have to agree w/Noel Wilde above, w/o doubt you are posting truly interesting & professional content, keep 'em coming, i'll definitely keep watching!
@@MentourPilot Wow! Your always excellent, professionally oriented reports are especially wonderful, offset with the warm & fuzzy accompaniment of 2 adorable, cozy little dogs flanking you during the entire account. It really takes the edge off a stressful subject. Very nice, thank you!
One time I pooped on a net, I also kept it very professional. You should have seen it, what a phenomenal net poop. That's when I realized why they put that little onion sack in swim trunks, American ingenuity at its finest.
AND there's dogs in the channel
Rest in peace Clarabelle "CB" Lansing, flight attendant, Aloha Airlines flight 243.
I'm very sad that she passed away.
Speaking of that flight attendant, when I watched the Air Crash Investigation episode for this particular incident, apparently there is an alternative theory call Fluid Hammer, which is when a fluid object hits a small area, it creates a hammer effect that creates tremendous force; it is similar to how when you drop a plug into a sink or bathtub, you will notice a sudden increase in suction as it gets very close to the mouth of the drain.
According to the engineer, he hypothesizes that it was possible that the plane in fact tore as designed, but the flight attendant what sucked into the hole. But as the tear strips are smaller than her frame, it created the same effect, and essentially created a pressure spike, which caused the rest of the weakened frame to cascade fail until there was insufficient force and metal fatigue for the tear to continue.
To my understanding, the FAA rejected the conclusion, but did state the concept deserved further study.
But it also makes me cringe because that meant her death was far more brutal than what's suggested by this report. With that in mind, I hope her death was instant, which I suppose is better then simply being sucked out and falling while conscious.
@@TheEDFLegacy Unfortunately, there is basically not such thing as an "instant" death. All we can hope is that she did not have time to understand what was happening.
@@DrewNorthup Typically, the concept of "instant death" involves a level of trauma that I dare not wish to describe here. In other words, brain function is instantly silenced. That being said, this may not have happened here, and I hope she passed out extremely quickly.
The Legacy I was fascinated by this theory!
They believe CB Lancing was blown through the hole that appeared and got stuck, causing the Fluid Hammer Effect, causing the rest of the damage. ( Fill your bath and take the plug out, then replace it, you will notice there is a shock and the plug gets pushed back down.)
As an engineer, people always accuse me of over complicating things. I think ahead and I want to make sure I don't make things that break. Watching these videos gives me so much insight on how to think ahead better. I'm not into aviation, just a lowly computer and communication engineer, but these videos are a goldmine. I can't imagine how pilots can keep a straight mind going into a cockpit.
Bro there is nothing lowly about that, don’t under-value yourself
@@berkaybattal7433 the mind is willing. Thank you!
As an engineer friend told me one time, “A doctor’s error can kill one person at a time. An engineer’s error can kill hundreds at a time.”
@@GooberFace32 I'm saving this one.
What horrible final moments for the poor cabin crew member that must have been. RIP :(
At that original high altitude, she would have quickly passed out from lack of oxygen, at least I hope so.
Sounds awful, but I kind of hope she was struck in the head, snapped her neck, or something in the process of being ejected and basically killed instantly or lost conciousness.
Hopefully she was rendered unconscious by her head striking the aircraft fuselage as she was sucked out and knew very little.
I have a feeling she didn't know what happened 😢
@@barbarachambers7974I think you're right. She was sucked up and smashed against the ceiling and likely killed instantly. Still sad but at least she didn't suffer
My family and I flew on this aircraft (N73711) from Honolulu to Kauai then to the Big Island about 4 weeks before this accident.
We were meant to go direct from Honolulu to Hilo but we got on the wrong plane and ended up doing a detour through Kauai.
I remember this aircraft vibrating a lot and making all sorts of strange noises, felt like it was held together with chewing gum.
I have a photo of me taken on board with a look of concern on my face.
The flight attendant told me 'This plane always rattles."
I'm now a Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (A&P) for a airline and have never been on a aircraft like that since that scared the hell outta me more than this one did.
N73711 started out as a leased aircraft and named King Kalaniopuu in 1969. Between then and 1983, it shuttled back and forth between Aloha and Air California. When it finally returned to Aloha, it was renamed Queen Liliuokalani. Air California changed its name to Air Cal the same year they totaled a 737-200 on a gear up landing after being instructed to go around to avoid landing on another Air Cal plane already on the runway. Maybe N73711 was leased to Air Cal in 1981 to fill in. My friend in San Diego told me not to fly Air Cal because they scared him three times in the same year. N73711 came apart almost reaching 90,000 cycles. Not pilot error, but maintenance deficiencies. I think Aloha had to retire the rest of their planes after failing inspections subsequent to this incident.
@@Flarptube The aircraft involved was the 152nd Boeing 737 airframe. It was built in 1969 and delivered to Aloha Airlines as a new aircraft. Its registration was N73711[4] and it was named Queen Liliuokalani after Lili'uokalani.
@@SilmarilS79 Aloha did not actually own MSN 20209/ LN 152 until March 1984. I can only guess why the plane had a gender reassignment; maybe the time it spent flying for Air California had something to do with it. Let’s not anthropomorphize the plane, but then the 747 was “Queen of the Skies”. It could be that the King’s name was removed when/if the plane was repainted and subsequently renamed. It’s not unusual to find aircraft being traded from one airline to another like a baseball pitcher in MLB.
Kauai
"I remember this aircraft vibrating a lot and making all sorts of strange noises..."
All Boeings do that. They're incredibly poorly built aircraft compared to Airbus.
They always talk about the miracle on the Hudson but this can go down as the miracle of Hawaii
So impressive how everyone kept their cool and kept working all the way through. I saw interviews with some of the passengers and they were doing everything they could to support each other too.
That the crew managed to land that plane is nothing short of a miracle.
Yet ANOTHER *combination of factors* leading to disaster.
Engineering + construction + maintenance shortcomings. This would never have happened in the UK or US aviation industry in the 50s, 60s. Safety, quality, reliability as legacies from WWII military mindsets and specifications.
After listening to the video about the pilot who allowed his kids to fly, the pilots who wanted to join the 41k club (I think it was 41k) and the ones who hit the water twice it was good to hear a video where the pilots didn't cause the accident
I have worked for a MRO responsible of the cabins' refurbishment as an engineer specialized in structural components.
Most of my job was to perform decompression analysis, as the new cabin included implementation of new seats for example.
These decompression analysis are mandatory to allow an aircraft to go back to flying, because the biggest risk is a decompression like in this accident: loss of part of the floor that contains some of the cables that operate the flight controls.
The most critical load case is an opening in cabin (door or portholes opening...) while the cargo bay is completely empty. indeed, the volumes of air in the cargo is huge without any cargo in it, but at the beginning of the event only the air in the cabin can exit. Therefore, there is a period (few seconds) where the cargo is full of air while the cabin is empty. This results in a very high load applied on the floor from the bottom to top which could lead to a floor breakout.
This is why since this accident we have seen emerging new device appear to regulate pressure between cabin and cargo called Dado panel (Airbus) / Return Air Grid (Boeing). Those are basically opening that allow the air to pass from the cabin to the floor (along the shear truss at the floor) to the cheaks sections in the cargo, finally reaching to cargo as the straps in the cheek break because of pressure (obviously working from cargo to cabin depending on the blow-out location).
Most of the engineering work consists in the analysis of the obstruction of those dado panels to determine whether the floor could sustain the load of a decompression. indeed, these panel are partially covered by the seats (mainly business seats), and therefore reduce the amount of air that can go from cabin to cargo.
Sorry for this big (and boring) cobblestone, but I figured it might interest a few people, since we were perfectly in the theme :-)
I'm curious why a hole above the floor worse than one below in the cargo compartment? As I'm sure you know, airplanes have been lost due to cargo area decompression. Also, don't most passenger aircraft have substantially more air volume above the floor than below it? Wouldn't this larger volume control the minimum through-floor venting required?
Problems have occurred where dado panels were not fitted and the decompression event occurred first in the cargo hold. Partial collapse of the floor area jammed flight control cables, which typically run under the floor , caused loss of control to tail flight surfaces .
@@andrewsnow7386 They're both at the same pressure, total volume has no effect on flow of fluid, only fluid energy
This was so interesting I paused the video to read it with full attention.
@@richodude2679 Turkish DC-10 northerm France.
Calling a situation of trying to land with no roof, one engine and a possibly failed front gear “almost silly” is British Airways Flight 9 levels of understatement.
They were really limping home.
is that the one where a 747 lost all 4 engines because of a volcano, I think back in the early 80's?
@@seanpeacock4290 yep
@@megandunnett7900 When keeping a respectful distance from an active volcano is considered too expensive.
Volcano science is not new at all, and it makes one wonder what they're being paid for, and also what obvious stuff is being neglected today and prepping the next disasters. (We are also fooled so easily.)
I also remember an incident with a NZ tourism train being buried long time ago because it was running over a lava channel bridge, and their volcano vigil was of so little use that the volcano erupted and poured lava down that channel and buried the train exactly when it crossed the bridge. - And just like in good air travel tradition, only afterwards they started to practice due diligence.
@@Dowlphin You are correct in most things, but I dont think the "respectful distance" remark is completely fair considering how far the ash can reach. Yes, today we would ground airplanes in a a very big radius possibly if a volcano erupts, but considering this was a long time ago and the circumstances around it, its not really a clear-cut case of neglience as you seem to imply. Tragic, yes, avoidable, probably, but not obvious.
Could you imagine sitting in a window seat and all of a sudden having no cabin wall next to you while at 24000ft?! Absolutely terrifying.
It's a wonder that the lower part of the fuselage was not immediately ripped off due to immense pressurisation from 1st class passengers
I remember when that happened! So scary and so sad. That poor flight attendant; One can only hope she was rendered immediately unconscious, and had no idea of what was happening as she fell, rather than spending her last moments in abject fear and panic.
Yeah, it terrifies me what her last moments would have been if she was conscious.
Imagine being on this flight as part of your Hawaiian vacation, then needing to get on a 12 hour flight home a few days later
I’d be permanently moving to Hawaii and whoever didn’t like it would just have to get over it.
I’m taking a boooooooooat!
@@damdamfino what if the bottom came offthe boat in the middle of the sea?
@@damdamfino if AOC had her way, you be taking a boat or a train to haiwaii
@@athunderbolth9646 at least I can swim.
Wow, that cabin crew member who crawled up and down the isle to comfort passengers is incredible. In accidents like these I'm always in awe at how much dedication the crew has to all on board.
And how cost cutting management is shitting on those people, removing every reason to be that dedicated and loyal. People like the current SAS management belong in padded cells with drugs that stop them giving out orders.
Very brave crew , but I would get no comfort watching an attendant crawling on the floor. The entire flight was a nightmare .
I’m trying to process that as a passenger and I can’t imagine NOT trying to throw her in a seat and strap her down - or create a leash for her, or something. The terror of “will I watch her die” on top of everything else…
@@khills If I was in an aisle seat, I would have insisted on pushing her down with a foot/hand until the end of the flight, if I was in the mental state to care about that.
I and my family were on this exact plane several months before this event. My father, who grew up in Hawaii, noted the name of the plane, Liliuokalani, since there was a landmark near him growing up with that name, Liliuokalani Gardens. I recall that the plane rattled a lot during the hop. I'm thankful that it was handled as well as it was. I don't have any issues flying, even knowing how close this could have been.
I currently live next to Liliuokalani Gardens. A little jungle in the middle of the city. Love the place if it weren't for the homeless living there now. What does that have to do with anything? Nothing. I believe I was on that plane too, but it is impossible to know at this point in time. I know all of Aloha's planes had names and they only had a few of them as they were a small company.
I was born and raised in Hawai’i. I was there when this occurred. Crazy! It’s amazing that it held together and the pilots were able to land it. I cannot even imagine sitting in a seat up front and suddenly...the sky...the ocean...yikes!
I saw the aircraft parked on the tarmac in Kahului the next week while I was on a business trip. The open cabin was wrapped/covered with blue tarps and the Aloha (airlines) logo in the vertical tail was painted over. I traveled back and forth to the outer islands quarterly from Honolulu. Guess which airline I used... Aloha Airlines is now defunct.
I have read that one passenger, who was interviewed after the incident, actually noticed tears between the rivets, just to the right of the entry door, as they boarded the aircraft. She mentioned the issue to her traveling companion but not to the crew. In addition, this particular aircraft, and others owned by the airline, underwent far more 'pressurization cycles' compared to the expected 'average'. This was due to the 'short hop' operation in the Hawaiian Islands. Far more 'take offs', 'landings', 'pressurization' and 'de-pressurizations' than 'average' for hours of flight time. Amazing only one was killed. God Bless her and her family.
I had been on Delta 1989 in US. Birmingham Al. I never heard the outcome. Another one in 1996 when we deplaned due to a bomb scare. Turned out it was no bomb but a fool playing with fire. He sprayed hairspray from a can and lit a match. They arrested him but we had to wait 2 hours in Phoenix to continue on to Las Vegas. Meanwhile I'm not afraid to fly. I still go to Vegas CA TX DFW Hawaii and Florida to Minnesota. My family is spread all over and I stayed on a train for 4 days to get from east coast to west coast. It was scenic deer and moose birds snow waterfalls but if you're in a hurry 4 to 5 hours and you arrive in Calif.
I heard about that, too! It's so important for passengers to tell the crew of any abnormalities they notice. Hell even if it's something completely normal that they mistake for being odd, you're still better off telling the crew.
I am a very nervous flyer, but this video actually made me feel better, that so many things went wrong and they still landed the plane with only one casualty.
As long as flight controls and aerodynamics that is left, allow pilots to get to the ground in controlled fashion, any visually horrifying structural damage is just.. visually horrifying. For instance damaged elevator or fixed in some extreme position with aircraft looking pristine, would likely be fatal. Luckily there is some redundancy in systems in aircraft and airliners have great gliding capability (much better than your 4-seat Cessnas), so even loss of all engines is almost "standard procedure" for good pilot if happens at safely high altitude.
since I started working in teh aviation industry its made me realize how many things go wrong that the passenger has no idea about! A few weeks ago one of our aircrafts had 16(!!) seagulls go through the engine and everybody was fine afterwards. Went back to base and there were just some fanblades that had to get switched out.
Same!
I grew up with toy poodles
I grew up with toy poodles
This guy’s voice is so soothing that the pups just sleep soundly. ♥️🐾🐾
I remember watching the Air Crash Investigation episode on this. I'm still amazed at just how incredible of an aircraft the 737 is to be so damaged and structurally compromised, yet still remain intact and in control. There are a lot of aircraft that would never survive what this 737 went through.
A buddy's dad was on that flight. About 5 rows back from the "sunroof." Tough old Aussie. No big deal. At least that's what he said after a dozen beer!
Sent my buddy a link to this video. Hoping he comes back with some info about his dad's experience. I heard the story from his dad in a pub but it was well into the night and we'd been going hard.
He would have felt differently if his beer had been sucked out
@@trueriver1950 haha true
"No big deal" is also the sentence I used the most when seeing my therapist.
There’s nothing that can shock an Aussie.
Which is no wonder when you live in a country that’s riddled with deadly poisonous critters of all kinds. 😬
First off, RIP Clarabelle Lansing and my hats off to the pilots, crew, and everyone aboard that plane on that flight as they all acted heroically and all deserve mad respect for their actions that day to save lives.
I just have to say this tho...those two dogs Petter has are so damn cute
They never found Her body 😢
@@DONUTBUZZCUT That's the saddest part for me. We can only pray it was quick, and that she didn't suffer.
Man being sucked out of a plane, certainly up there when it comes to worse deaths
3 reasons I watch your videos:
- amazing stories of airmanship
- ways to learn from previous failures - how all the processes, checklists and so improved over time due to failures of the past
- unbelievable stories how heavily damaged machine still managed to land
This video covers all of them. Thanks!
Agreed. As a frequent flyer (who used to know very little about the manufacturing, maintenance, or operations of aircraft) I truly have a different perspective when I get on an airplane now. I never realized just how much is going on in the cockpit (and in ATC) while we're just sitting there waiting to takeoff and land. I will never take it for granted. I have a newfound appreciation and respect for air crews because of these videos.
The dogs will someday become well educated pilots since they are constantly in the presence of a very knowledgeable instructor. Much Appreciated!!!
Can you imagine the heartbreak from the flight crew when they have evacuated and they speak to the crew? “Where’s CB?”
RIP Ms Lansing x
Such a shame, she was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Rest in peace indeed.
I remember my dad showing me, several years after this incident, the strengthening added to 737's exterior fuselage to prevent a similar incident. Maybe not the best time to show this to a child as you were boarding an airplane.
Sounds like something my step dad would do! It's his way of going "hey this is safe!" 😅 Means well
50th like
"...the strengthening added..."
Aye, we've all heard of gaffer tape.
I was on vacation in Hawaii with family, and the plane was delayed. I decided to tell this story while we we waiting to show why it's good to do maintenance rather than stick to the schedule. My mom was not amused.
once sat next to a guy watching plane crash vids on his ipad
This incident is one of those 'episodes' in history that stand out in my past. I remember it being in the news when it occurred and I remember discussing some of the findings with my dad, specifically the metal fatigue issue as well as how the number of pressurazation cycles were much higher on the incident aircraft than on the average, mainland based 737-200 because it mainly flew multiple inter-island flights per day.
It's amazing how many of these tragedies are mitigated by good pilots.
If any crew should be given an award for heroism and bravery under the worst possible conditions, it should be these guys. This is an example of the best of flying skills and extreme professionalism, all at the same time.
I’m totally impressed by the heroism of the flight attendant trying to reassure the passengers! Wow, I cannot immagine what hell situation they lived...amazing flight crew, fantastic job!
their life may depend on the passengers remaining calm.
Flight crews are awesome. I know a flight attendant in person. Their level of training and general ballsyness is something an average joe like me can only dream of. Remember: Their actual job is staying professional in nightmare situations, being probably the only ones in the cabin to keep a level head, and make sure a bunch of panicking people do the right things and survive. Only at times when everything is peachy and they do not need to perform their actual job, do they have time to push coffee trolleys around and smile at grumpy passengers. Remember that next time when you are waiting for your peanuts: The flight attendant might have something infinitely more important to do at the moment.
@@EnigmaticPeanut everyones life dpends on it. Desaster is bad enough, but panick spreading during a desaster is the absolute worst that can happen, worse than more parts of the plane falling off.
@@paavobergmann4920 such as? Truly asking, not being sarcastic
@@tonirose6776 such as examining the state of the door, flight control surfaces or engines and reporting it back to the cockpit, decide whether to force passengers to swap places to get someone to sit at the door who is likely to be able to actually open it in an emergency, inform colleagues on a passenger who needs to be watched closely to prevent a ruckus, any number of things.
I remember this incident so well from when it happened. The sight of this airplane opened up like that and people still in their seats, but still landing, was so shocking. It still is.
It was like a can opener sheared the roof off.
I was a 727-200 captain at the time of this incident and remember that my employer was very quick to issue reassurances that our fleet consisted of the later, differently constructed. model. I had forgotten this all but now I'm off to Google to find what the differences were. You can retire from flying, but you can't stop being a pilot I guess,
Had to study this failure in one of my mechanical engineering classes. Also, Boeing wasn't considering high cycle flights in their bulletin to require more in-depth inspections. Aloha was unique in were Boeing often thought in hours of flight time to do more invasive and rigorous inspections, this was a classic cyclic fatigue in a moist and salty environment which should have required more frequent and rigorous inspections because of pressurization cycles (impacted by the number of flights), not vibration cycles (which are more flight-time dependent).
@Playford Seven Fatigue in the fuselage structure is more dependent on flight cycles. That is, the biggest loading on the fuselage is probably the load from pressurization, which usual occurs once per flight cycle.
Compare this to the wing structure (the wings are not pressurized). Here the biggest contributor to fatigue is likely the wings "flapping" in turbulent weather conditions. The amount of turbulent weather encountered is going to depend more on the hours in flight than on the number of flights.
There is of course crossover. The fuselage will see changes in loading when flying through rough weather, and the wings do see a few cycles because they are "hanging" from the airplane (often heavy with fuel) when on the ground, and then the airplane is "hanging" from the wings in flight (a reversal of the forces on the wing, or a cycle).
When this happened I was working for Boeing with a guy whose dad was part of Boeing's quick response team whenever there was an incident like this. He told me that Boeing monitors how are their planes are being used and had warned Aloha about the added stress that their short flights creates. Boeing even offers models of the 737 in which fuel storage is reduced and the weight saved use to beef up the plane. Aloha didn't listen. Boeing, not being the FAA, couldn't make them. And yes, this was back when Boeing had a safety first culture.
Each flight of Aloha 737 was in mere minutes, with so many takeoff and landings daily. I heard of people flying almost daily there.
Yeah, Hawaii weather corrodes everything man, something new looks like junk in 6 months :(
@N. Warner Twas cold bond on the matrix doubler to the inner crown skin. Buncha salt and corrosion snuk in. BAC had already moved to hot bond/autoclave and now they have Chem-mill. Passengers should have known that 75,000 stretches on b-40 sealant wasn't gonna hold. C'mon.
I was living on Maui when this happened. My parents had moved there in ‘86 when I was 8 and I remember seeing this plane parked off the side of the runway with a blue tarp over its front missing section. Was very big news around the islands.
It's incredible the pilots were able to land this plane without suffering further structural compromise.
*A good buddy of mine was on this flight (YEARS before I ever knew him) as an almost-tween. He was in the row (I believe port side) one ahead of the over-wing escape windows. It would be many years b4 I ever met him, but alas, I never would have but for some great airmanship by the crew.*
I lived in Hawaii when that happened. I met one of the passengers who was on that flight. He had to file a suit against a photo processing facility because they kept the original negatives and sold the photos he had taken.
I had to quit using a developer after "the one magic negative" was clipped from the middle of a roll. It's heartbreaking to do a job culminating in a picture that will change your life and someone steals it.
Oh, sure you did.
@@cmw9876 So that's not just happened to me then. Fortunately I took the shot again and got a successful development the second time via another developer. Still, even Kodak managed to lose 1 image in the middle of a roll of film !
@@1gman547 It's not that hard to imagine someone that met someone from the flight being interested in the subject and eventually stumbling upon this video
@@milosh226 I just laugh and shake my head as these SUCH BIG SKEPTICS are often the same people who also believe an invisible man lives in the sky and telepathically communicates with everyone who makes a magic motion of their hands, is capable of arbitrarily suspending the laws of physics and the universe to perform personal favors to those who adequately stroke his massively weak ego which requires constant endless literal worship, and that the Number 1 single biggest LOSER of money in the entire United States for the 1990’s decade (per the IRS) who’s had private planes repossessed and gone bankrupted 6 times, has a 30+ year history of neglecting to pay his bills, has such poor credit that only 1 remaining bank was still willing to lend to him (and they finally stopped and closed his accounts several months ago) - is a wildly SUCCESSFUL and profitable businessman with heaps of money. 🥴🥴🥴🤦🏻♂️
Honestly with the number of pressurization cycles and the accompanying hot/cold cycles these planes go through, it’s a wonder of engineering that the planes last as long as they do.
Great video, may that poor FA rest in peace. And the other one who still performed duties, and comforting passengers is a true hero. And your pups are absolutely adorable!!
I recommend that if passengers see something of concern, they should report it to the pilot or co-pilot. Several years ago we were on a flight from Honolulu to Lihue, Kaui, when I informed the flight attendant that there was whistling sound coming from one of the windows. The flight attendant told me it was nothing to be concerned about but I knew that wasn't correct & I insisted on speaking to the pilot or co-pilot. He turned white when I informed him, they lowered the altitude the plane was flying at, and they grounded the plane until it could be repaired. I wish I could say that was the only time that happened but it happened again on a flight from Edmonton to Calgary which was going to continue on to Toronto as its last leg of the flight. I got the same response from the flight crew but I informed them that rapid decompression could occur & asked to speak to the pilot or co-pilot. Thankfully the plane was then grounded in Calgary for repairs. I shudder to think what could have happened if I hadn't insisted on speaking to the pilots/co-pilots as passengers could have been in danger of being sucked out of the plane if the window blew out & rapid decompression had occurred. I knew about rapid decompression from my training to be a flight attendant but went to university instead rather than be a flight attendant. (Sharen)
Damn !
I call bs.
@@daren32909 Your call is wrong. It's the truth. I was there with my wife in Hawaii when this happened.
@@daren32909 Agreed.
@@daren32909 i don't understand why people like you and @Julia always 'call bs' when there's so much detail in a comment. You think that people who experience things in real life don't use the internet and comment on stuff? Or is there a group of people on the internet just going around calling everything bs as a hobby?
If watching videos on crashes makes you nervous, remember this: every time an airplane crashes, chances are, your next flight just got at least a little safer.
Exactly !! Like the race car drivers (test dummies) that walk away from horrific crashes. Or football players who have knees destroyed but come back to play again !! Cars get safer and surgeons learn more. We owe them.
It's also worth noting that air travel is the safest form of transport. You're far more likely to get injured or killed driving your car to work.
It depends. The first crash of the 737 MAX didn't improve safety... they had to wait for the second one.
Actually, I've found comfort in it, not that I was ever particularly scared of flying before. I now know which bits of the airplane we can have fail and still make it safely to the ground, or, if not safely, at least have a possibility of surviving.
Mommy says, "Every time a plane crashes, an angel gets his wings..." ...and a pilot looses theirs."
As a structural engineer I have to say you did an amazing job explaining the fatigue failure of this aircraft.
As a non-destructive testing (NDT) technician, part of my job is using testing methods (ultrasonic testing, for instance) to seek and report those cracks in a piece of metal of other material, in order to prevent this sort of things from happening. This example of flight 243 was given to us during the training, and this video made it all very interesting and "real". Thanks!
What about new materials such ás carbon and fiberglass type skin? Does ultra sound work on them?
@@sharoncassell9358 Oh yes, absolutely! Actually I only work on composites. Those are laminated (several sheets of fabric on top of each other), so you very much see each layer and if they bond well together (disbondings are bad and detected with ultrasound). You can also see porosity and foreign objects (a chunk of paper or plastic, for instance).
Some techniques are not possible in layered fabric like composites (such as using transverse waves), but those are not really required with composites since we mainly use them when testing metallic solderings.
I mainly work on carbon fiber, glassfiber, and kevlar-fiber. Each one has is own specificities and some are more easy to test than others (glassfiber is very absorband, so the wave rapidly decreases when the material gets thick), but otherwise it’s totally possible and also widely used :)
I love this series of videos, very well done and very informative. Please consider doing one on PSA flight 182 which collided mid air with a Cessna over San Diego in 1978 (which I remember vividly). I believe at that time it was one of the worst air disasters in the US.
Keep up the great work!
I didn't notice you mentioning the exceptionally high number of landing cycles per hour on these interisland flights. I grew up in Hawaii and remember this incident very clearly. Aloha took a lot of heat, but I remember one of the things that propagated through all carriers was that they needed to do certain maintenance and inspections based on landing cycles instead of purely by flight hours.
1 - high cycles for relatively few flight hours
2 - warm salty humid environment to speed corrosion
Is that because lots of short cycles contain more take offs and landings, so a long flight pattern will be a lot less stressful but show the same amount of flight hours?
@@dionlindsay2 Well it actually depends on which part you are talking about but for the skin of the aircraft yes the cycles of expansion and contraction of the fuselage with each pressurization is the dominant factor. In this regard, it is similar to how freeze-thaw cycles need to be taken into account when calculating inspection intervals for critical structures on the ground, water getting in to and then cyclically expanding and contracting with the freeze-thaw has a similar effect of applying pressure to any weak point that does develop massively accelerating the propagation of cracks. The main difference is that water freezing pushes the parts of the crack apart whereas in pressure vessels the pressure differential pulls the crack apart but either way repeatedly jacking the crack open causes the stress concentrations at the end of the crack cause it to grow at the ends until the part fails or properly conducted inspections detect and stop the growth of the cracks.
@@seraphina985 Wow, thanks for such a detailed answer. I had just assumed the take off and landing bits were hardest on engines. But expansion and contraction I get (I was a duffer at sciences but I remember teachers getting me to understand a bit about the coefficient of linear expansion). Thanks for the friendly answer :-)
@@dionlindsay2 Well the cause of the expansion is different in the case of the hoop stress on a pressure vessel but the vessel does indeed expand and contract a little. There is no such thing as a truly rigid body all materials are at least somewhat flexible and will deform to some degree when subjected to variable loads of any kind. Not usually enough to be perceptible but it is enough to slowly wear on the internal structure of the material over time. For a tubular pressure vessel like an aircraft fuselage or say a pressurized pipeline you have stress trying to pull it apart in every direction which does cause the radius to expand slightly and also the length to be stretched a little (hoop stress and longitudinal stress respectively). Over time this is what leads cracks to begin to develop at any stress concentration points and expand from there (Rivets or any discontinuity in the material properties of the structure ie windows in an aircraft or welds between sections of a pipe or whatever.
Great work Mentor! This accident was just as significant to the aviation industry as the de Havilland Comet decompression accidents of the 1950’s. Metal fatigue is no joke!!
Correct!
@@Die-Angst "just as significant" means "equal in significance"
Amazing that this plane stayed together through all that. The engineering of planes these days, the skills of the cockpit crew and cabin crew, , and some luck made this much better than it should have been. Sad there was loss of life and the fact that it could have been worse doesn't change the fact that she's gone but thankfully they were able to minimize loss of life as much as they did.
This man is a great host... very informative and sound experience as a 737-pilot. I'm a Marine Corps combat-veteran--I flew the F-4 Phantom "wild weasel" until a career-ending combat injury during the Gulf War. Some of my greatest memories were early morning training sorties out of MCAS El Toro California. I could pull the nose up, the elevators (vertical stabilizer) would move upward, forcing my climb attitude for a quick 600 knot push to the ceiling @ 20,000 feet. In seconds I could level-out and watch the sun rise before the rest of the West Coast could... It was akin to walking on water with Jesus Himself. "MENTOUR PILOT" brings back great memories, and those of tragic accidents for which I witnessed in both training and combat actions, that causes me to miss my days of flying Mach II through the desert and over the Pacific. Semper Fi!
Back when this happened a friend of mine was one of the investigators he said the only thing that held that plane together when it landed where the strips of metal that the seats were bolted to otherwise it would have folded up when it came in contact with the runway
The normally heavy wind in the valley that Maui airport sits in, also died right as they started their approach. They got very lucky
The underbody skin also helped. The front of the aircraft is the least stressed part of the airframe. If this had happened between the wings and the tailplane, your scenario
would probably have come to pass-- while airborne.
Fascinating how deep the stress analysis was by the Boeing engineers is on just that one lap joint. As a pilot and aircraft owner it makes me realize how much we take these designs for granted.
The margins of safety on aircraft structures are incredibly tight because of the weight limits. Those designs have to be right, and they have to be maintained and repaired right. There is very little wiggle room.
@@PartanBree Reinforces that old addage of measure twice cut once
I'm multitasling: listening to the interesting content while watching the poodles chill...
I love your channel. I am a retired professional pilot and I enjoy your reports and videos immensely. Keep up the good work.
I remember the accident - it looked horrendous and it was real luck, that there was only one casualty. Especially now, as you told the whole story oft went wrong after the roof was blown off. A lot I didn't know.
That's why I feel actually safer, when the captain does an extra inspection of possible cracks in the airplane, even if it delays the flight. I had this once in Frankfurt - a member of the loading crew had spotted something that could be a crack in the horizontal stabilizer. The captain inspected it and technicians came with a crane to have a look. As it turned out, this was only superficial in the paint. But although departure was delayed for almost an hour - I never felt safer aboard a plane.
I wouldn't call having "only" one casualty "lucky". Especially when this whole thing not only could but should have been avoided.
When you consider the kind of damage that was going on in that plane, its a wonder the explosive decompression didn't lead to a total structural failure.
Only
I remember the incident being in the news at the time, and I have read and watched several other articles/videos about the incident. My impression is that it's a miracle the fuselage didn't crack in half. It's probably very fortunate that this was a 737-200, with the short fuselage, before Boeing started stretching the 737 into aircraft that the original 737 design never contemplated. One has to wonder if one of the stretched versions could have survived a similar catastrophe.
I still remember being at work and hearing about the accident and then seeing the photos. I felt (feel!) bad for the loss of that poor FA. Another 'if everyone would be conscientious' ... Thanks lots for another great video, so well produced!
One of your best videos, Petter. I remember very well the accident when it was broadcasted on the news and I felt (and still feel) extremely sorry for the poor lady who lost her life, but also admired the pilots' skills that allowed to land the plane safely. BUT overall I like your pragmatic and systematic approach, your digging into the crucial facts, avoiding any sensationalism; and I love the way you present the conclusions and the lessons learnt. Well done!
and I think I'm gonna keep my setbelt fastened unless nature calls from now on
Ask any flight attendant or pilot. We “never” take our seat belts off when flying as passengers.
@@linarm1 well I dont really take it off because I'm lazy.
I'm never getting on a aircraft again.
@@therugburnz cars are even worse!
@@archmagos1436 Yeah, driving your car between the Hawaiian Islands is very dangerous.
I remember seeing this on the news when it happened and was flabbergasted that the aircraft could even fly in that condition, and could only imagine the horror of the passengers, particularly those in the open.
It is truly amazing. Bless all involved.
The saddest part is this story is celebrated because the plane landed with most people surviving. But people forget some were severely injured and one woman was never found. Its actually quite a sad ending to this tragedy, yet it feels like it’s celebrated! What the?
She won't know the difference. But sad for her family for sure.
Wasn't she sucked into the engine?
@@noticiasinmundicias no not into the engine. She got sucked out and on her way she blocked the hole which is partly why more of it ripped off than should have. There was leftovers of her body on the roof/side of the aircraft from where she had touched it as it flew away from her. She is lost at sea.
Absolutely, but at least, much was learned from her tragic death… Horrible tragedy and terrifying for the survivors that not only did she die but several witnessed her being sucked out… something I’m certain you can never unsee… I had hoped that her remains had been found but they haven’t
@@annettefertitta6868 they will prob never be found. But at least her legacy is built into all new aircraft and will likely save lives in the future
I am a currious tech guy and I am following ACI for years. Your videos are extremely good! I deeply appreciate the effort! Greetings from Bulgaria :)
This happened the same year my wife and I got married (actually about 5 months before) we honeymooned in Hawaii and still took 737s to fly from one island to the other but kept our seat belts on the WHOLE time! Metal fatigue salt air environment. I guess metal fatigue notwithstanding Boeing built a pretty solid plane!
Excellent explanations, Mentour. The epoxy strips were a fabric back impregnated with low viscosity room-temp cure adhesives. They were meant to take the load of of pressure cycles but the useful lifetime estimates were based on hours used rather than flight cycles. With Aloha operating in the tropics, and their puddle-jumping mode of operations, they were probably seeing at least 2-3 times the cycle counts per flight hours than the estimates were based on. And the conditions they flew could cause epoxies to revert, the stresses of high cycle counts could cause the non-reverted adhesives to crack and flake, and the fabric substrate in the joint would wick moisture in. The wisdom of relying on epoxies for structural strength is on the same level as putting square windows in the DeHavilland Comet... something nobody really thought much of until after the problems became too clear to ignore. These days, the skin panels are designed to be held together to the plane by rivets, and the fay surfaces will be sealed with polysulfides which are soft and rubbery enough to survive cycling, won't revert in humidity, and are meant entirely to seal the joint and not expected to lend any structural integrity.
I remember the high number of cycles of pressurization being an issue. Thanks for the additional info.
I read once a long time ago about how Fokker Friendships used epoxy but folded the butt section around a second piece of metal (or an interlock with the next sheet). It was unusual at the time but the insurers eventually liked it. I've always wondered about the actual engineering details. Off to G**g** now. I'm old enough to have clocked up a few miles in Friendships and used to enjoy the milk runs with lots of hops between cities. Flying lower is much more interesting but bumpy.
Im so glad you explained - i have to fly next week.
As I understand it, the question regarding "square windows in the DeHavilland Comet" has become misunderstood over time. The cabin windows were not entirely square, and in fact had rounded edges - where the misunderstanding comes in is that the fatigue cracks in the case of G-ALYP began at the "windows" surrounding the ADF aerials in the roof of the aircraft - these "windows" consisted of opaque fibreglass rather than glass. The original specification called for these window frames to be bonded in, but at some point a decision was taken to rivet them as well (presumably in an attempt to reinforce structural integrity). This was a late modification to the construction process, and does not appear to have been well thought through, because punch-riveting was used as opposed to drill-riveting. The problem with punch-riveting is that the process distorts the skin as the rivet is punched through, and this distortion is prone to cracking - the investigators came to the conclusion that this was very likely to have been the origin of the cracks which fatigue made worse in a much shorter number of cycles than would have been the case had the ADF windows been bonded in as per the original spec.
The switch from rounded rectangular windows to oval windows in the cabin was the result of wanting to eliminate every possible source of cracking origins in order to restore public confidence in the Comet 4 - in fact the "tear strips" mentioned in this video were not only adopted by Boeing for the 707 and later types, but also by De Havilland in the Comet 4. Every subsequent British jetliner design was, if anything, over-engineered in terms of structural integrity - which came with minor, but noticeable weight and performance penalties.
The Yankee (later Grumman) AA-1 series of light aircraft were manufactured by bonding (glueing) the aluminium panels together, with minimal rivetting. De-bonding accurred in service, requiring in-service rivetting.
Kudos to both pilots. They somehow managed to communicate enough without talking to assess the situation, understand how the airplane is behaving and adapt to the needs of the aircraft to put that bird down on the ground.
I remember seeing this on the news, it was unbelievable to see so much damage, the flight crew did a great job, as with most pilots in control of a damaged plane. If only the entire flying public would watch your videos to appreciate the flight crew & the training it takes to handle any situation.
I flew on that very aircraft less than a year before this incident going from Honolulu to Lihue on Kauai, 2nd. May 1987.
Just like I was driving on the I35 bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis two weeks before it collapsed in 2007. I was also on a plane flying from Philadelphia to LA on 9/11/01, but it wasn't one of the ones that went down. Sometimes we're luckier than we realize.
Earthworms Crawl Yes indeed.
My oldest was born the very day you flew on that plane. Clearly an auspicious date for both of us
@@trueriver1950 You just wanted to write a sentence with the word (auspicious) in it.
Sure you did.
I’d love to show this and the Hudson video (in particular) to all those who make derogatory comments about flight attendants. Thanks for another excellent video.
Man. I cannot imagine being one of the passengers. Especially in the area where the incident occurred. So so scary!
i'm impressed that with that much of the structure gone, that the plane was not only able to fly, but also land without catastrophicly bending in the damaged section.
During an interview, passenger Gayle Yamamoto told investigators that she had noticed a crack in the fuselage upon boarding, but did not notify anyone
If I saw that I WOULD NOT get on that aircraft and tell the people
@@izakomandaz2895 Don't use caps for no reason.
@@PointNemo9 I'm not using caps for no reason! I'm showing how I feel about getting on the plane.
@@izakomandaz2895 There is no reason to use caps for that. Use your vocabulary instead.
@@izakomandaz2895 lol dont worry hes just an emotionless zombie.
"in the unlikely event of a loss of cabin pressure" *ROOF TEARS OFF*
In this case I think it was the other way round.
George Carlin
@@Nik-xi2ri You win!
@@Nik-xi2ri Roof flies off is what he actually said
@@LoneWolfZ for the glory of our forefather Odin! *Valhalla!*
Mentour, have you ever thought of branching out into non-aviation stuff? You're a very talented storyteller and you're very good at explaining things in a way we all understand. I could listen to you describe paint drying and love every minute of it.
Totally agree.
if someone is interested in paint drying or grass growing they can make it sound interesting and make a living at either. My dad was a painter and had to pay attention to paint drying, I now live in Oregon, where most of the US grass seed comes from so watching grass grow is interesting for the grass seed growers.
@@mr55082 Ayyy! Oregon gang!
Absolutely agree.
Also, listening ro him talk about paint drting wouldnt male me scared of using paint, like I'm now scared to fly when I didn't used to be.
I know this episode was created ago, but hopefully, you'll see this. I started working for the FAA in Nov. 1997. I remember the story you recounted, but not the implication of the FAA. Working for them, I knew they'd fined Boeing a number of times but didn't think we could also be fined. A few years in, we hit Boeing pretty hefty fine, then the NTSB hit us w/a heavier fine for not making regular checks on Boeing. I never thought that could happen. But after that, a flight engineer who rode w/us to work, stoppedriding. He said he had to be more "hands-on" w/Boeing, including flght time.
Catherine
so often in these stories the flight attendants are the unsung heros, its really amazing even after that whole roof was gone she still risked her life to crawl around and comfort passangers.
One of my friends is ex-crew and as far as they are concerned, once they are in the air, it's their plane and they will protect it and everyone in it until it's back on the ground. (so don't annoy them when you're on board because they are your friends!).
Excellent explanation of this incident. I remember it clearly. Having flown on similar flights in Hawaii in the mid seventies I know that the Aloha and Hawaiian Airlines aircraft had a far greater number of cycles than most other airlines. The pilot and first officer did a remarkable job getting this plane down onto the runway. Thank you for explaining this incident so thoroughly.
That picture of the plane with the seats exposed is amazing.
Imagine sitting there without a wall or roof next to your seat. Your just sitting with that dinky seat belt to stop you falling out while the plane is flying at almost 300knots.
“Are you with me so far?” Pause for a second … “Great!” 🤔 I don’t think he heard me say No 😅
LOL ! He'd lost me by that point. I just smiled when he said that. It was that part about the glue.
Wow almost 90,000 cycles on the airframe seems like a lot indeed
Yep, far more than Boeing had anticipated
It’s a function of the locale. Up until March, I used to fly between Honolulu to Kahului on Maui fairly regularly. From the time where the aircraft pushes back from the gate ‘til the point where you get off on the other side is about 45 minutes at most. Each interisland flight that comes in disgorges its passengers, and then nearly immediately, boarding starts for the next leg. Between HNL and OGG, the cycle time is a little more than an hour, and under normal circumstances, flights run from about 5:30 am ‘til about 10pm, so it’s possible an aircraft can do 10 cycles a day on this particular route. I don’t know how long each aircraft spends in maintenance, but it can’t be that long since this aircraft was built in 1969 and failed nearly 30 years later, so call availability 300+ days a year.
I’m from half a world away, but my wife is from here and she remembers the coverage on TV and in the papers at the time.
@@MentourPilot I wish you put more emphasis in your video about the significant about the discovery of cycles needing to be separately tracked from flight hours; if I'm not mistaken, the pressurization and depressurisation cycle is the most damaging part of an aircraft flight, in terms of metal fatigue. I would imagine that long-haul aircraft would actually have exceptionally long lives in comparison, because even though they traditionally would have significantly more flight hours, the amount of metal fatigue the body experiences would be much lower.
Actually, speaking of air accidents, I would love to see do a video on a flight where the pilots of an asian 747 got disoriented, fell out of the sky, accelerated beyond design limits, until they saved it at the very last minute, and landed safely. Apparently it even ripped parts of the tail off from the velocity. I forget what the flight was called.
The reason I'm bringing it up is because this story reminded me of a very weird quirk that was permanently etched into this particular 747 for the rest of its service life: the wings had a permanent upward bend of about 1 degree. 😅 I would be curious as to how much that would affect the plant handling going forward.
On the day of the accident there was only one other 737 in the world with more cycles than Aloha 243.
@@TheEDFLegacy It was a 747 belonging to a Japanese airline. One engine flamed out at high altitude and, instead of descending to a lower flight level to restart it (where the air is denser), the crew tried a high altitude restart. Lacking adequate thrust, the plane banked and entered a dive.
I was ticketed on that very flight! The last moment one of my instructors at UHH wouldn't let me miss a class so I didn't go to HNL to go clubbing.
I normally sat up front and knew Mimi casually. Such a tragedy but kudos to the crew. I've wondered how I would have reacted had I not missed that flight.
What it did do was to peak my already interest in aviation and ended up going to a professional pilots school after UHH and worked in aviation my whole career. Very rewarding, but be prepared for industry ups and downs.
Listen to what is said here as you need to be a pilot first, equipment operator second.
it''s 'pique' btw ..
@@pasoundman Thank you for the grammar correction. I am sure that no one could understand what was written without your clarification. It is comforting to know that you are out able to take valuable time to correct such mistakes. The world is certainly a better place. I did check my college grammar books and I am unable to find references on the " .. " punctuation that you used. I will strive to make sure that such punctuation is included in writing courses from this point forward. The fact it isn't " piques" my interest.
In all seriousness I do appreciate the correction " btw".
@@jphd45a Not grammar, spelling actually. Do you prefer using the wrong word ? I just mentioned it since you maybe never knew it was spelt that way actually. I've also corrected those who use the plural 'aircrafts' !. my bad !
@@pasoundman Sounds good. I understand. I was quite grumpy with a sibling when I read that and lashed back. :) I am dealing with a parent's estate who passed from Covid and a bit on edge right now. I hope you have a good day. I also admit I would have read and understood pique, but had never used it in written form. I was in error. My knuckles can drag with the best of the gorilla family. Ha
I had flown on that aircraft earlier that morning just before the incident… flying from Lihue to Honolulu. I still have a photograph of that plane that I took just prior to embarking at Lihue. It is truly an amazing story…
Such thorough, understandable explanation of such a complex occurrence! It is obvious that he put a great deal of work into this presentation!
In 1988 in my 20s, I was boarding an Aloha Airlines flight from Honolulu to Hilo. As I was boarding I noticed large cracks radiating from a rivet/rivets in the fuselage to the right side of the cabin door on the left side of the plane. About a week or so later back on Oahu, I heard about Aloha Airlines Flight 243 experiencing explosive decompression and losing part of the fuselage. At the time I thought about telling the cabin crew as I entered the plane. But I just thought to myself, "if I have seen it, surely the crew have seen it too. It shouldn't be a problem, these people must know what they're doing"
Man, if that was the same plane you saw, i hope it doesn't weigh heavily on you that you didn't report it. There were passengers aboard the fatal last flight that also noticed a crack, but didn't report it either, because they made the same assumption you did. And it was a completely reasonable assumption to make, too, you were right that the airline absolutely should have noticed that themselves. It was ultimately their responsibility and their failure
@@happy99soup82 yes
I don't believe you at all.
Eventually one has to learn the myth of professionality. I eventually realized incompetence is rampant and all disasters could have been prevented.
Comparable to your experience, on a Lufthansa Embraer IIRC, I saw a loose outer window gasket next to me and assumed that surely they already know about it and somehow it was not critical since the plane was still being operated, and the gasket also looked like it couldn't have popped out just an hour ago. But it was quite appalling.
That wasn't a trigger event, since I had been very observant and thoughtful before, but since then I have been ranting a lot about the normalized level of criminal negligence in our world.
@@happy99soup82 It's crossed my mind a few times over the years, and in hindsight I wish I did. But I was just an excited kid on my first overseas trip. I knew next to nothing about planes and as I was boarding, one of the crew was standing right there next to it with a big smile on her face. I just assumed the crew must have seen it because it was in plain sight and they're the paid experts.
I've never heard such a detailed analysis of this incident! But it was miraculous that the pilots and crew were able to safely land the aircraft and save so many lives. Thank you for making this video!
Most engineers and stressmen know that you don't arrange rivet patterns in straight lines (because of the tendancy to 'tear along the line'). Adjacent holes should be off-set in good engineering practice - this has been known about since the early days of making boilers for steam engines !
Hi Petter, My hat is off to this whole crew, they handled a dire situation in the best way possible and brought this bird home safely without further loss of life. Explosive decompression is a nightmare. Many years ago in a tandem two stick jet I had and explosive decompression at 45,000 feet, it was on an air test (which of course the aircraft failed), my rear crewman was an old and bold pilot with a heart condition who tested us often in the simulator for just such a circumstance. He was only allowed to fly with a fully able pilot and he crewed with me to keep his aviator's hand in and also read the air test checklist whilst we were turning and burning. I thought I had lost him because we had no communication due to pressure breathing until I descended vertically to under 10,000 feet... not something you can do with pax on board. Once stabilized at about 8,000 feet I could hear him laughing and he said that was the best ride he had had for years. Gotta love the old and bolds.