"United Airlines Flight 811: Sudden Explosive Decompression"
             On February 24, 1989, a United Airlines Boeing 747-122 (B-747), departed Honolulu, Hawaii (HNL) bound for Sydney, Australia. While on climb-out the aircraft crew and passengers heard a loud explosion, followed almost instantly by a loss of cabin pressurization. A passenger, also a commercially licensed pilot, accounts of the incident by stating that "the cabin fogged over for what seemed to be about fifteen seconds.. At that stage all hell was breaking loose". (Rutherford, 2). What this passenger was describing was the aircraft's rapid depressurization process due to the loss of a cargo door in flight.
             United Airlines Flight 811 included a crew of three, fifteen flight attendants, and three hundred and thirty seven passengers (nine of which lost their lives on this flight). The flight had departed HNL gate ten at 0133 Honolulu Standard Time (HST), three minutes after proposed departure time. The second officer stated that all cabin and cargo door warning lights were out prior to the airplane's departure from the gate. After takeoff, the captain requested a deviation to the left of course for thunderstorm avoidance. He left the fasten seatbelt sign "on". While climbing between 22,000 feet and 23,000 feet at 300 knots indicated air speed, the B-747 began to experience an "unusual vibration" (Rutherford, 2). This vibration was followed by a loud thump, and an explosion. This explosion was due to the forward lower lobe cargo door separating in flight and causing extensive damage to the fuselage and cabin structure adjacent to the door.
             The crew had donned their oxygen masks and found there was no oxygen available. They believed the passenger's masks had deployed automatically. The captain initiated an immediate left 180 degree turn, and descended toward HNL. An emergency was declared with approach control, and 7700 ...