Aloha Airlines Flight 243
The Aloha Airlines Flight 243 best refers to the accident that occurred on April 28, 1988, which is one of maintenance-related failures in aviation.
Description
At 1346, a Boeing 737-200, N73711, operated by Aloha Airlines Inc., as flight 243, experienced an explosive decompression and structural failure at 24,000 feet, while en route from Hilo, to Honolulu, Hawaii. Approximately 18 feet of the cabin skin and structure aft of the cabin entrance door and above the passenger floorline separated from the airplane during flight. There were 89 passengers and 6 crewmembers on board. One flight attendant was swept overboard during the decompression and died; 7 passengers and 1 flight attendant received serious injuries. The flightcrew performed an emergency descent and landing at Kahului Airport on the Island of Maui.
Causes
Probable cause
- Failure of the Aloha Airlines maintenance program to detect the presence of significant disbonding and fatigue damage ultimately led to failure of the lap joint at S-10L and the separation of the fuselage upper lobe, which is believed to be the probable cause of the accident.
Contributing causes
- The cited contributing causes include:
- The failure of Aloha Airlines management to supervise properly its maintenance force;
- The failure of the FAA to evaluate properly the Aloha Airlines maintenance program and to assess the airline's inspection and quality control deficiencies;
- 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.
