1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:13,960 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:16,840 Speaker 1: a show that pays tribute to people of the past 4 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:21,680 Speaker 1: by telling their stories. Today, I'm Gay Bluesier, and today 5 00:00:22,079 --> 00:00:25,599 Speaker 1: we're reflecting on the Nightmare A Flight eight eleven, a 6 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:29,600 Speaker 1: tragic disaster that revealed a chilling disregard for the safety 7 00:00:29,640 --> 00:00:41,920 Speaker 1: of airline passengers and crews. The day was February. Nine 8 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:47,320 Speaker 1: passengers were killed on a flight from Hawaii to Auckland 9 00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:52,239 Speaker 1: when the planes cargo door swung open in midflight. The 10 00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:56,080 Speaker 1: accident happened early in the morning, shortly after takeoff from 11 00:00:56,120 --> 00:01:01,400 Speaker 1: Honolulu International Airport. When the door opened unexpectedly, it was 12 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:04,319 Speaker 1: torn off the side of the plane and peeled back 13 00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:08,080 Speaker 1: part of the outer fuselage with it. This created a 14 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:12,080 Speaker 1: gaping twelve by twenty five foot hole near the right 15 00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:16,679 Speaker 1: forward cargo hold. In an instant, all the pressurized air 16 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:20,640 Speaker 1: inside the cabin was sucked out at breakneck speed, and 17 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:24,560 Speaker 1: nine of the closest passengers were dragged out along with it. 18 00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:29,720 Speaker 1: The flight number eight eleven on United Airlines, had taken 19 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:32,679 Speaker 1: off from Los Angeles the previous night and then made 20 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:37,959 Speaker 1: a brief stopover in Honolulu early on February. The plane 21 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:41,600 Speaker 1: itself was a nineteen year old Boeing seven forty seven. 22 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:46,119 Speaker 1: At three thirty four am Pacific time, the plane took 23 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:49,440 Speaker 1: off with three hundred and thirty seven passengers and a 24 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:53,760 Speaker 1: crew of eighteen, bound for Auckland, New Zealand, but it 25 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:57,880 Speaker 1: wouldn't get very far before disaster struck and forced the 26 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:02,280 Speaker 1: plane to make an emergency landing. The airline later reported 27 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:05,320 Speaker 1: that the plane was one hundred miles south of Honolulu 28 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:08,639 Speaker 1: at an altitude of about twenty two thousand feet when 29 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:13,840 Speaker 1: the cargo door gave way. This resulted in a decompression explosion, 30 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:17,360 Speaker 1: which blew nine passengers out of the plane, most of 31 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:21,359 Speaker 1: whom were still strapped in their seats. Not every instance 32 00:02:21,400 --> 00:02:25,560 Speaker 1: of explosive decompression leads to people being ripped out of planes. 33 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:29,799 Speaker 1: For instance, a small hole in the plane's fuselage would 34 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:33,200 Speaker 1: only produce enough force to blow around loose papers and 35 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:37,880 Speaker 1: articles of clothing. The air inside and outside the cabin 36 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:41,320 Speaker 1: would then equalize quickly, and while it would still be 37 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:44,720 Speaker 1: loud and cold, the rest of the plane's structure would 38 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:47,680 Speaker 1: hold and that would be that. But in the case 39 00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:50,560 Speaker 1: of Flight eight eleven, The hole in the side of 40 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:54,399 Speaker 1: the plane extended almost the entire height of the fuselage. 41 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:58,720 Speaker 1: It was a large scale structural failure, and nine people 42 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:02,960 Speaker 1: died as a result. The incident occurred over the Pacific Ocean. 43 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:06,080 Speaker 1: Some of the people sucked out of the plane fell 44 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:10,200 Speaker 1: for several minutes before colliding with the water below. Others 45 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:12,840 Speaker 1: were blown into the side of the plane and died 46 00:03:12,919 --> 00:03:18,120 Speaker 1: on impact, and one or more went through the engines. Meanwhile, 47 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:21,520 Speaker 1: those in the cockpit weren't sure what had happened. They 48 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:24,360 Speaker 1: heard a large thump and initially thought a bomb had 49 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:27,399 Speaker 1: gone off. Then they realized that two of the four 50 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:31,000 Speaker 1: engines had been disabled. They sent an engineer to the 51 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:33,600 Speaker 1: cabin to see what was going on, and after being 52 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:37,200 Speaker 1: informed of the giant hole in the fuselage, the pilots 53 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:41,360 Speaker 1: immediately descended and began heading back to the airport in Honolulu. 54 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:45,440 Speaker 1: As for the people in the cabin, they obviously fared 55 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:49,240 Speaker 1: better than the victims, but they still endured a harrowing experience. 56 00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:53,360 Speaker 1: There were no announcements or instructions over the intercom because 57 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:55,320 Speaker 1: no one would have been able to hear them over 58 00:03:55,360 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 1: the constant roar of rushing air. One passenger A thirty 59 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:02,960 Speaker 1: five year old old Australian fashion designer named Paul Hawks 60 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:07,800 Speaker 1: later described the scene. He said, quote, it was horrible. 61 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:10,760 Speaker 1: All of a sudden, the people sitting next to us 62 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:14,600 Speaker 1: just disappeared. Inside the cabin, there were pieces of debris 63 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:18,039 Speaker 1: flying all over. The stewardess, who had been serving drinks 64 00:04:18,200 --> 00:04:22,240 Speaker 1: was knocked down, bleeding profusely. The noise and the wind 65 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:25,280 Speaker 1: were horrific. We tried to shout, but we couldn't hear 66 00:04:25,320 --> 00:04:27,960 Speaker 1: each other. I thought we were all going to die. 67 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:33,880 Speaker 1: Thankfully that wasn't the case. Eventually, flight attendants used battery 68 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:37,360 Speaker 1: powered megaphones to tell everyone to get into the landing position. 69 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:41,479 Speaker 1: The air crew was led by Captain David Cronin, a 70 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:44,320 Speaker 1: veteran pilot of thirty five years who was just a 71 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:48,360 Speaker 1: month or so shy of mandatory retirement. Together with his 72 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:52,120 Speaker 1: co pilots, Cronin was able to successfully land the wounded 73 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:56,200 Speaker 1: plane back at the airport at four thirty three am. 74 00:04:56,360 --> 00:05:00,960 Speaker 1: Passengers reported that despite the horrifying circumst dances, there had 75 00:05:00,960 --> 00:05:04,760 Speaker 1: been no panic in the cabin. In fact, some passengers 76 00:05:04,760 --> 00:05:07,760 Speaker 1: did their best to help keep others calm. Like an 77 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:11,159 Speaker 1: a poignant encounter later described by thirty one year old 78 00:05:11,160 --> 00:05:15,760 Speaker 1: passenger Carrie Lappin. She said, quote, the whole plane was 79 00:05:15,839 --> 00:05:19,000 Speaker 1: falling in pieces from the wind. The whole plane was 80 00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:22,680 Speaker 1: starting to shake. I thought, this is it. But there 81 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:25,000 Speaker 1: was a man in front of me. I don't know who. 82 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:28,719 Speaker 1: It was a wonderful, wonderful man. He held my hand 83 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:31,719 Speaker 1: and he comforted me. It was so lovely to have 84 00:05:31,839 --> 00:05:35,760 Speaker 1: someone's hand to hold. Once they were safely back on 85 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:39,720 Speaker 1: the ground, the three hundred and forty six survivors slid 86 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:43,880 Speaker 1: down emergency shoots onto the tarmac. Eighteen of them were 87 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:47,960 Speaker 1: taken to nearby hospitals. Five were admitted for broken bones 88 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:50,760 Speaker 1: and head wounds, and the rest were treated and released 89 00:05:50,839 --> 00:05:55,000 Speaker 1: later that day. Those who were unharmed were confined to 90 00:05:55,040 --> 00:05:58,080 Speaker 1: a roped off portion of the terminal for eight hours 91 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:01,960 Speaker 1: while they were questioned by the fb I. An extensive 92 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:04,919 Speaker 1: air and c search was conducted to find the nine 93 00:06:04,960 --> 00:06:09,279 Speaker 1: lost passengers. The Navy and Coast Guard swept a hundred 94 00:06:09,320 --> 00:06:13,880 Speaker 1: and twenty square mile area a hundred miles southwest of Hawaii, 95 00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:19,200 Speaker 1: but the passengers bodies were never recovered. Maintenance records revealed 96 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:22,599 Speaker 1: a series of problems with the locking mechanism a Flight 97 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:28,080 Speaker 1: eight eleven's cargo door. However, the National Transportation Safety Board 98 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:33,080 Speaker 1: the NTSB, initially concluded that the accident had resulted from 99 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:36,960 Speaker 1: preventable human error, not from a flaw in the cargo 100 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:42,039 Speaker 1: door's design or function, but not everyone was convinced. Lee 101 00:06:42,200 --> 00:06:45,520 Speaker 1: Campbell was one of the nine passengers killed on Flight 102 00:06:45,520 --> 00:06:49,240 Speaker 1: eight eleven. The twenty four year old New Zealander had 103 00:06:49,279 --> 00:06:52,080 Speaker 1: been returning home from a trip but never made it back. 104 00:06:52,839 --> 00:06:57,000 Speaker 1: His parents, Kevin and Susan Campbell, launched their own independent 105 00:06:57,080 --> 00:07:01,480 Speaker 1: investigation of the case. Using documents of from the NTSB, 106 00:07:02,440 --> 00:07:06,440 Speaker 1: They found that the cause of the decompression wasn't human error, 107 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:10,600 Speaker 1: it was an existing, well documented problem with the doors 108 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:16,600 Speaker 1: latch locking system, improper wiring and poor design. The Campbells 109 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:20,320 Speaker 1: presented their findings to the Safety board. In light of 110 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:23,960 Speaker 1: this and other developments, including a closer examination of the 111 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:29,920 Speaker 1: recovered cargo door, the NTSB later revised its conclusion. The 112 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:34,320 Speaker 1: final report aligned with the Campbell's theory an electrical short 113 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:37,840 Speaker 1: in the lock system had caused the latch to rotate open, 114 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:44,040 Speaker 1: releasing the door and causing a decompression explosion. Disturbingly, this 115 00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:48,960 Speaker 1: same electrical malfunction had already happened at least once before. 116 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:54,840 Speaker 1: In seven, the cargo door on another Bowing seven had 117 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:58,440 Speaker 1: partially opened in flight due to a damaged door lock. 118 00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:03,480 Speaker 1: In response to that incident, the Federal Aviation Administration or 119 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:07,360 Speaker 1: f a A, ordered all airlines to improve the door 120 00:08:07,440 --> 00:08:12,000 Speaker 1: lock systems on their Bowing seven forty seven's. However, the 121 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:15,800 Speaker 1: f a A gave the airlines until December thirty first, 122 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:21,000 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty nine, to make the necessary modifications. Flight eight 123 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:24,800 Speaker 1: eleven took off ten months before that deadline, and at 124 00:08:24,840 --> 00:08:28,480 Speaker 1: the time United Airlines had not yet made the repairs 125 00:08:28,520 --> 00:08:32,559 Speaker 1: to that plane. It was later revealed that the adjustments 126 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:35,680 Speaker 1: to the door latch system would have cost just three 127 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:41,000 Speaker 1: thousand dollars. The airline's procrastination over a few measly grand 128 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:45,679 Speaker 1: had resulted in the deaths of nine people. Following the accident, 129 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:49,240 Speaker 1: the f a A moved up that deadline and gave 130 00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:53,839 Speaker 1: airlines just thirty days to fix their locks. Since that time, 131 00:08:54,280 --> 00:08:57,480 Speaker 1: no other deaths due to similar accidents have been reported 132 00:08:57,520 --> 00:09:01,360 Speaker 1: on Boeing seven forty seven's. As for the aircraft that 133 00:09:01,440 --> 00:09:06,240 Speaker 1: was damaged in flight eight eleven, it was eventually repaired, reregistered, 134 00:09:06,520 --> 00:09:11,360 Speaker 1: and returned to service for United Airlines in the cost 135 00:09:11,400 --> 00:09:14,880 Speaker 1: of the repairs to the planes, hull and interior was 136 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:18,960 Speaker 1: said to be about fourteen million dollars. The names of 137 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:22,840 Speaker 1: the nine passengers who died on flight eight eleven were 138 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:27,480 Speaker 1: Anthony and Barbara Fallon, Lee Campbell, Susan and Harry Craig, 139 00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:33,160 Speaker 1: Dr John Michael Crawford, Mary Handley, Rose Harley, and John Swan. 140 00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:39,360 Speaker 1: May they rest in peace. I'm Gay Bluesier and hopefully 141 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:42,520 Speaker 1: you now know a little more about history today than 142 00:09:42,559 --> 00:09:45,440 Speaker 1: you did yesterday. If you'd like to keep up with 143 00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:48,360 Speaker 1: the show, you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and 144 00:09:48,400 --> 00:09:52,480 Speaker 1: Instagram at t d I h C Show. He can 145 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:55,200 Speaker 1: also leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, and you 146 00:09:55,240 --> 00:09:57,800 Speaker 1: can write to us at this Day at i heart 147 00:09:57,880 --> 00:10:01,400 Speaker 1: media dot com. Thanks as always to Channel or Maze 148 00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:04,120 Speaker 1: for producing the show, and thanks to you for listening. 149 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:07,800 Speaker 1: I'll see you back here again tomorrow for another Day 150 00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:20,120 Speaker 1: in History class. For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, 151 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:22,800 Speaker 1: visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 152 00:10:22,840 --> 00:10:24,079 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.