Aloha Airlines Flight 243
The ruptured fuselage after landing | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | April 28, 1988 |
| Summary | Emergency landing following in-flight structural failure and explosive decompression |
| Site | near Kahului, Hawaii, US 20°32′24″N 156°16′48″W / 20.54000°N 156.28000°W |
| Aircraft | |
| N73711 in February 1988, two months before the accident | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 737-297 |
| Aircraft name | Queen Liliuokalani |
| Operator | Aloha Airlines |
| IATA flight No. | AQ243 |
| ICAO flight No. | AAH243 |
| Call sign | ALOHA 243 |
| Registration | N73711 |
| Flight origin | Hilo International Airport |
| Destination | Honolulu International 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. Sixty-five 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.