On April 28, 1988, at 1346, a Boeing 737-200, N7371I, operated by Aloha Airlines Inc., as flight 243, experienced an explosive decompression and structural failure at 24,000 feet, while en route from Hilo to Honolulu, Hawaii. Approximately 18 feet from the cabin skin and structure aft of the cabin entrance door and above the passenger flooring separated from the airplane during flight.

There were 89 passengers and 6 crewmembers onboard. One flight attendant was swept overboard during the decompression and is presumed to have been fatally injured; 7 passengers and 1 flight attendant received serious injuries.

The flight crew performed an emergency descent and landed at Kahului Airport on the island of Maui. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the failure of the Aloha Airlines maintenance program to detect the presence of significant disbanding and fatigue damage which ultimately led to the failure of the lap joint at S-10L and the separation of the fuselage upper lobe.

Contributing to the accident was the failure of Aloha Airlines management to supervise properly its maintenance force; the failure of the FAA to evaluate properly the Aloha Airlines maintenance program and to assess the airline’s inspection and quality control deficiencies; the failure of the FAA to require Airworthiness Directive 87-21-08 inspection of all the lap joints proposed by Boeing Alert Service Bulletin SB 737-53A1039; and the lack of a complete terminating action after the discovery of early production difficulties in the B-737 cold bond lap joint which resulted in low bond durability, corrosion, and premature fatigue cracking.