Aloha Airlines Flight 243

Coordinates: 20°53.919′N 156°25.827′W


Fuselage remains after the emergency landing

Incident
Date: April 28, 1988
Summary: Explosive decompression caused by metal fatigue and maintenance error
Site: Kahului, Hawaii


Route of Aloha Airlines Flight 243. In blue, the original route, and in red, the detour after the incident.

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, but was able to land safely at Kahului Airport on Maui. There was one fatality, flight attendant Clarabelle Lansing, who was ejected from the airplane. Another 65 passengers and crew were injured. Despite the substantial damage inflicted by the decompression, and the loss of one cabin crew member, the safe landing of the aircraft established the incident as a significant event in the history of aviation, with far-reaching effects on aviation safety policies and procedures.

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Aviation Accident Database -- Aloha Airlines – Boeing – B737-200 (N-73711) flight AQ243

FAA Lessons Learned From Civil Aviation Accidents


Photo of the fuselage damage on Aloha Airlines flight 243