Aloha Airlines Flight 243
Fuselage of Aloha Airlines Flight 243 after the explosive decompression.
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| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | April 28, 1988 |
| Summary | Explosive decompression caused by metal fatigue, maintenance error |
| Site | Kahului, Hawaii |
| Passengers | 90 |
| Crew | 5 |
| Fatalities | 1 (flight attendant) |
| Injuries (non-fatal) | 65 |
| Survivors | 94 |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 737-297 |
| Aircraft name | Queen Liliuokalani |
| Operator | Aloha Airlines |
| Registration | N73711 |
| Flight origin | Hilo Int'l Airport (ITO) |
| Destination | Honolulu Int'l Airport (HNL) |
Coordinates: 20°53.919′N 156°25.827′W / 20.898650°N 156.430450°W
Aloha Airlines Flight 243 (AQ 243, AAH 243) 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, but was able to land safely at Kahului Airport on Maui. There was one fatality, flight attendant Clarabelle "C.B." Lansing, who was ejected from the airplane. Another 65 passengers and crew were injured. The safe landing of the aircraft despite the substantial damage inflicted by the decompression established Aloha Airlines Flight 243 as a significant event in the history of aviation, with far-reaching effects on aviation safety policies and procedures.
The airframe, the 152nd Boeing 737 built, named Queen Liliuokalani after Lili'uokalani, with registration N73711, was built in 1969 and delivered to Aloha Airlines as a brand-new aircraft. While the airframe had only accumulated 35,496 flight hours prior to the accident, those hours were over 89,680 flight cycles (a flight cycle is defined as a takeoff and a landing), owing to its use on short flights.
The flight departed Hilo at 13:25 HST on April 28, 1988 with five crew members and 90 passengers, bound for Honolulu. No unusual occurrences were noticed during the pre-departure inspection of the aircraft. The aircraft had previously completed 3 round-trip flights from Honolulu to Hilo, Maui, and Kauai that day, all uneventful. Meteorological conditions were checked but no advisories for weather phenomena occurred along the air route, per Airman’s meteorological information (AIRMET) or significant meteorological information (SIGMET). The captain was 44-year-old Robert Schornstheimer. He was an experienced pilot with 8,500 flight hours; 6,700 of those were in Boeing 737s. The first officer was 36-year-old Madeline "Mimi" Tompkins. She also had significant experience flying 737s, having logged 3,500 of her total 8,000 flight hours in them.
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