United Airlines Flight 811

Introduction
United Airlines Flight 811 was a passenger flight from Los Angeles to Sydney with stops in Honolulu and Auckland. The front cargo door of the aircraft blew out resulting in the death of 9 passengers and the injuries of 38 others. The crash was the topic of the first Air Crash Investigation episode, first aired in September 2003.

Pilots
Captain David Cronin, First Officer Gregory Slader and Flight Engineer Randal Thomas flew the aircraft, and managed to land it safely after the decompression.

A Normal Flight
Flight 811 took off from Honolulu International Airport at 1:52, and the flight began as normal. Captain Cronin noticed that there was more turbulence than expected, so he kept the seat-belt sign on. Little did he know this would save many lives. The plane began to climb through 23,000 ft, but a grinding noise was heard in the cabin, followed by a thump. One second later, the cargo door and part of the fuselage flew off the aircraft.

The Hole
Nine passengers were sucked out of the plane, one of them hitting engine 3. A flight attendant was holding on to the handrail on the staircase of the aircraft, and the pandemonium had begun. The plane had suffered an explosive decompression, leading many to believe that a bomb had just exploded. This thought was exaggerated by the fact that the Lockerbie Bombing, an airplane bombing that killed 270, had taken place only 2 months ago. Engine 3 was lost as the cargo door had struck the right wing and a horizontal stabiliser. The aircraft was now descending fast, and the pilots began to turn back to Honolulu for an emergency landing.

Passengers and crew began to suffocate as the pressurised air had left the aircraft, leaving the thin air of 23,000 ft. The oxygen generators had also been damaged, meaning none of the oxygen masks worked. The aircraft quickly descends to 15,000 ft, a breathable altitude. Engine 4 had also been damaged by the cargo door, and so the crew were finding it hard to control the plane. Losing Engine 4 would result the in the aircraft stalling, as it would not have enough speed to stay airborne. A similar incident brought down El Al Flight 1862, which resulted in the death of 43 after it slammed into an apartment block in Amsterdam. Engine 4 had not been damaged enough to fail, so the crew pushed it and the other remaining engines to full power. What they didn't know, is that by doing this they just set the engine on fire. Flight Engineer Thomas suggested he would go see what happened, and the pilots agreed. After going down the stairwell, Thomas turned white as a sheet. A giant gaping hole was around him, and that hole lead to an endless void. As well as this, he could see engine 4 burning at the end of the wing, and rushed back up to tell the pilots. Captain Cronin and First Officer Slader had already realised that engine 4 was on fire, and were troubleshooting it when Flight Engineer Thomas came back up. He told them that 'The right side is gone from about the one right back, it's just open, you're just looking outside.' The crew agreed this had to be a bomb, as nothing else would tear a hole like this. With two engines gone and the aircraft lowering in altitude, both the pilots and flight attendants prepared for a ditching. Passengers began to put their life jackets on and prepared for the worst. But, just as they thought they weren't going to make it, there were signs that they were. A passenger began point to their window, and other passengers looked through. Small dots of light were beginning to show up, and these lights were the coastline of Honolulu.

A Hope
The plane is now flying over Honolulu, but their worries are far from over. A Boeing 747 has to land on a runway with part of the fuselage missing, and a damaged right wing. The pilots prepare for landing by extending the flaps and lowering the landing gear. The flaps were damaged, meaning the plane now had to land at a much faster speed to avoid stalling. This could result in a runway overrun, which could kill many more. The plane is cleared to land at Honolulu, and passengers brace for impact. The plane had to approach fast as it hadn't got full flaps due to the damaged wing, the plane was still overweight with fuel, and only 2 out of the 4 thrust reversers were working. The plane was getting closer to the runway, and was descending. No one knew if this was going to be a successful landing, or a fail.

The plane touches down on the runway, and the pilots try their hardest to slow it to a stop. The plane successfully did so. After this, all 10 emergency slides were deployed, and passengers evacuated the aircraft. Of the 355 people that stepped on the airplane, 346 people got off. A Boeing 747 had landed on a runway with a giant hole in the side of the fuselage. But why was the hole there in the first place?

Investigation Results
The front cargo door of the aircraft had improper wiring which created a short circuit that opened the door. The weak locks were then pushed open, and the fuselage was teared off with it due to the explosive decompression it created.

May the 9 people who were sucked out of the aircraft rest in peace.