Paging Fly320s

[Hawkmoon]

Here's one that might interest you:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/04/02/arizona.flight.diverted/index.html?iref=NS1

Anyone here (besides me) old enough to remember Aloha Airlines? I believe that was a Boeing 737, also, albeit an earlier generation.

[never_retreat]

George Carlin:
"In the unlikely event..." This is a very suspect phrase, especially coming, as it does, from an industry that is willing to lie about arrival and departure times. "In the unlikely event of a sudden change in cabin pressure..." ROOF FLIES OFF! "An oxygen mask will drop down in front of you. Place the mask over your face and breathe normally." Well, I have no problem with that. I always breathe normally when I'm in a 600 mile-an-hour uncontrolled vertical dive. I also SH1T normally! RIGHT IN MY PANTS!

[Fly320s]

Meh. Planes age, aluminum rusts (corrodes), parts wear, metal fatigues.

No one died, not even from depressurization/lack of O2. No serious injuries even.

[Hawkmoon]

Meh. Planes age, aluminum rusts (corrodes), parts wear, metal fatigues.

No one died, not even from depressurization/lack of O2. No serious injuries even.

True. Quite boring, in fact. When the roof blew off the Aloha bird, didn't one of the flight attendants get sucked out? Thought so:

At 1325, flight 243 departed Hilo Airport en route to Honolulu as part of the normal scheduled service. In addition to the two pilots, there were three flight attendants, an FAA air traffic controller, who was seated in the observer seat in the cockpit, and 89 passengers on board. Passenger boarding, engine start, taxi, and takeoff were uneventful.

The planned routing for Aloha flight 243 was from Hilo to Honolulu at flight level 240. Maui was listed as the alternate landing airport.

The first officer conducted the takeoff and en route climb from Hilo. The captain performed the nonflying pilot duties. The first officer did not recall using the autopilot.

The flight was conducted in visual meteorological conditions. There were no advisories for significant meteorological information (SIGMET) or airman's meteorological information (AIRMET) valid for the area along the planned route of flight.

No unusual occurrences were noted by either crewmember during the departure and climbout. As the airplane leveled at 24,000 feet, both pilots heard a loud "clap" or "whooshing" sound followed by a wind noise behind them. The first officer's head was jerked backward, and she stated that debris, including pieces of gray insulation, was floating in the cockpit. The captain observed that the cockpit entry door was missing and that there was blue sky where the first-class ceiling had been. The captain immediately took over the controls of the airplane. He described the airplane attitude as rolling slightly left and right and that the flight controls felt "loose."

Because of the decompression, both pilots and the air traffic controller in the observer seat donned their oxygen masks. The captain began an emergency descent. He stated that he extended the speed brakes and descended at an indicated airspeed (IAS) of 280 to 290 knots. Because of ambient noise, the pilots initially used hand signals to communicate. The first officer stated that she observed a rate of descent of 4,100 feet per minute at some point during the emergency descent. The captain also stated that he actuated the passenger oxygen switch. The passenger oxygen manual tee handle was not actuated.

When the decompression occurred, all the passengers were seated and the seat belt sign was illuminated. The No. 1 flight attendant reportedly was standing at seat row 5. According to passenger observations, the flight attendant was immediately swept out of the cabin through a hole in the left side of the fuselage. The No. 2 flight attendant, standing by row 15/16, was thrown to the floor and sustained minor bruises. She was subsequently able to crawl up and down the aisle to render assistance and calm the passengers. The No. 3 flight attendant, standing at row 2, was struck in the head by debris and thrown to the floor. She suffered serious injuries including a concussion and severe head lacerations.

The first officer said she tuned the transponder to emergency code 7700 and attempted to notify Honolulu Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) that the flight was diverting to Maui. Because of the cockpit noise level, she could not hear any radio transmissions, and she was not sure if the Honolulu ARTCC heard the communication.

Although Honolulu ARTCC did not receive the first officer's initial communication, the controller working flight 243 observed an emergency code 7700 transponder return about 23 nautical miles (nmi) south-southeast of the Kahului Airport, Maui. Starting at 1348:15, the controller attempted to communicate with the flight several times without success.

Full write-up here: http://www.aloha.net/~icarus/

[Hawkmoon]

Follow-up: http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/04/05/texas.southwest.planes/index.html

[Fly320s]

Follow-up: http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/04/05/texas.southwest.planes/index.html

Saw that.  I understand that fatigue cracks on the upper fuesalage are rare and/or unexpected.  I guess all of the pressurization cycles are taking a toll.  Southwest flies primarily short flights, which means that those planes go through more pressurization cycles per plane that other 737 operators.

[Hawkmoon]

Saw that.  I understand that fatigue cracks on the upper fuesalage are rare and/or unexpected.  I guess all of the pressurization cycles are taking a toll.  Southwest flies primarily short flights, which means that those planes go through more pressurization cycles per plane that other 737 operators.

Yep. Funny thing -- that's what they figured out after the Aloha Airlines plane became a convertible, and it seems that "those who do not learn from the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them." Aloha flies a bunch of short hop routes, too. What a surprise.

[Bob F.]

Does Aloha have their maintenance done in El Salvador??

[AmbulanceDriver]

Was reading something about this today.  Apparently, Boeing kinda screwed up.  They were saying that the skins wouldn't need to be seriously inspected until they hit 60k cycles.  The one that became a pop-top had less than 40k on it, apparently.

The new inspection regime?  Start serious inspections at 30k, then every 500 thereafter.

[Waitone]

Anyone know where Southwest does its MRO work? 

[Northwoods]

A320 sufferes electrical fire

They were damn lucky to be only 4 minutes out from NOLA when it started.  Takeoff to emergency slides deployed was 12 minutes.

[Fly320s]

A320 sufferes electrical fire

They were damn lucky to be only 4 minutes out from NOLA when it started.  Takeoff to emergency slides deployed was 12 minutes.

Yeah, it happens quick. They were also lucky that they could fly visually back to the airport.