What happened
On April 28, 1988, an Aloha Airlines flight traveling from Hilo to Honolulu experienced a catastrophic structural failure while in flight. The Boeing 737-297 aircraft underwent an explosive decompression when a large section of the upper fuselage tore away. During this event, one flight attendant was ejected from the cabin, resulting in one fatality. The aircraft, despite the severe damage to its structure, managed to complete an emergency landing at Kahului Airport on Maui. While the plane was recovered, the incident left 65 passengers and crew injured.
Investigation
Following the incident, investigators examined the structural integrity of the aircraft and the maintenance history of the fleet. The inquiry focused on the physical state of the fuselage skin and the conditions that allowed such a large-scale failure to occur during a routine domestic flight.