Airlines in crisis

  American Airlines Flight 96

Detroit, June 12, 1972

Air crew: Captain Bryce McCormick and First Officer Peter Whitney

This DC-10 suffered explosive decompression when a cargo hatch blew out. Rapid decompression crumpled part of the cabin, damaged hydraulic controls, cut controls to the top engine and caused the rudder to stick at far right. Despite the severe damage to the aircraft, the pilots landed her safely with no loss of life. The cause of the accident was a faulty locking mechanism on the cargo bay door.

DHL OO-DLL transport

Baghdad, Nov. 22, 2003

Air crew: Captain Eric Gennotte, First Officer Steve Michielsen and Flight Engineer Mario Rofail

“Fedayeen” scum fired a missile at this Airbus A300 cargo plane doing a rapid-climb takeoff from Baghdad airport. The missile hit the left wing, destroyed an engine and irreparably damaged all hydraulic systems. Without hydraulics, they could use only differential throttles to control the A300, whereby pilots gain a measure of lateral control through running one engine faster than the other, and a smidgen of horizontal control by increasing/decreasing speed. After experimenting for 10 minutes, the three-person crew turned the damaged craft around for a landing. They veered off the runway into soft sand, using only reverse thrust to stop the craft. Fascinating note: Capt. Gennotte got the idea to use differential throttles after attending a seminar given by Capt. Al Haynes, the pilot of United Airlines Flight 232 (see #2 below), who used the techniques when his aircraft lost all hydraulics.

 United Airlines Flight 811

Honolulu, Feb. 24, 1989

Air crew: Captain David Cronin, First Officer Gregory Slader and Flight Engineer Randal Thomas

A cargo door failed on this 747-122 bound for New Zealand, causing explosive decompression. Nine passengers were killed and several injured. The crew lost some flight controls and fires started in engines 3 and 4. They took the 747 down to breathable air—the accident also destroyed the oxygen equipment —and turned the plane back to Honolulu. With only partial flaps, they landed successfully.

Aloha Airlines Flight 243

Maui, April 28, 1988

Air crew: Captain Robert Schornstheimer and First Officer Madeline “Mimi” Tompkins

This is probably one of the most well-known air disasters. This 737, bound for Honolulu, suffered serious structural damage when the top portion of the passenger cabin literally ripped off. Metal fatigue and corrosion from continual operation near salt water caused hairline fractures that eventually led to catastrophic structural failure. One crewmember was killed and about 65 people were injured. The pilots brought the heavily damaged craft down safely, despite not knowing whether the front landing gear had deployed correctly. It is absolutely amazing that the 737 stayed in the air.

British Airways Flight 9

Jakarta, June 24, 1982

Air crew: Captain Eric Moody, Senior First Officer Roger Greaves and Senior Engineer Officer Barry Townley-Freeman

A 747 flight named The City of Edinburgh was en route from London to Auckland when the pilots inadvertently flew her through the ash cloud of Mount Galunggung, an Indonesian volcano. Lacking any moisture, the ash cloud did not show up on their radar screen. The ash shut down all four engines and the oxygen supply stopped working properly. With no engines, Moody put her in a steep, 6,000-foot dive to reach breathable air, then turned toward Jakarta for a possible water landing—all while gliding. Fortunately, after they cleared the ash cloud, the crew got the engines restarted and they landed safely in Jakarta. Fun fact: Captain Moody issued what’s justly called a “masterpiece of understatement” when he told passengers: “Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped. We are doing our damnedest to get them going again. I trust you are not in too much distress.”