How this Boeing 737 lost it’s ROOF! | Aloha Airlines flight 243

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.

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Below you will find the links to videos and sources used in this episode. Enjoy checking them out!

TheFlightchannel: Aloha Airlines flight 243

[Komainu]

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.

[tylerrobbins]

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.

[LudySanchez]

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

[dustinweatherby]

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

[bryanc]

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. 😌

[Cherrysmith]

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.

[bjornnilsson]

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!

[joshuabrooks]

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!

[roger-bpnr]

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.

[Ricardodelamuerte]

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.

[noelwilde]

Without doubt one of the most interesting and absolutely professional channels on the net today.

[xDRTeK]

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.

[nwadoug]

Flight attendant Michelle Honda was BEYOND heroic! Michelle crawled up the aisle putting lifejackets on passengers and preventing panic in the cabin.

[koolterpolskie]

I love how the two dogs fell asleep during storytelling

[drdreddmanofmystery]

That the crew managed to land that plane is nothing short of a miracle.

[Waimakua]

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.

[choying]

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.

[euansmith]

It is astonishing how an aircraft can lose so much of its fuselage and not totally disintegrate.

[hayleyxyz]

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.

[NicoBattelli]

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!