United Airlines Flight 811

United Airlines Flight 811 was a regularly scheduled international flight from Los Angeles to Sydney, with intermediate stops at Honolulu and Auckland. On February 24, 1989, the Boeing 747 serving the flight experienced a cargo-door failure in flight shortly after leaving Honolulu. The resulting explosive decompression blew out several rows of seats, killing nine passengers. The aircraft returned to Honolulu and landed without further incident.

Infobox

Date

February 24, 1989 (1989-02-24)

Summary

Cargo door failure leading to explosive decompression

Site

Pacific Ocean near Honolulu, Hawaii, U . 20°41′24″N 158°40′30″W / 20 °N 158 °W / 20 ; -158

Aircraft type

Boeing 747-122

Operator

United Airlines

IATA flight No.

UA811

ICAO flight No.

UAL811

Call sign

UNITED 811

Registration

N4713U

Flight origin

Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, California, U .

1st stopover

Honolulu International Airport, Honolulu, Hawaii, U .

2nd stopover

Auckland Airport, Auckland, New Zealand

Destination

Sydney Airport, Sydney, Australia

Occupants

355

Passengers

337

Crew

Fatalities

Injuries

Survivors

346

Tables

Victim nationalities · Accident

United States

Nationality

United States

Fatalities

Australia

Nationality

Australia

Fatalities

New Zealand

Nationality

New Zealand

Fatalities

Nationality	Fatalities
United States	6
Australia	2
New Zealand	1

References

"Aircraft Accident Report, Explosive Decompression – Loss of Cargo Door in Flight, United Airlines Flight 811, Boeing 747-122, N4713U, Honolulu, Hawaii, February 24, 1989"
https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/AAR9202.pdf
Aviation Safety Network
https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19890224-0
Federal Aviation Administration
https://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/maintenance_hf/library/documents/media/human_factors_maintenance/united_airlines.pdf
airscapemag
https://airscapemag.com/2016/05/23/united-flight-811/
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2010/10/06/breaking-news/hero-pilot-of-united-flight-811-dies-at-age-81/
AP News
https://apnews.com/article/128d2904acfdd466874dc49c7b95aec3
Mayday
The Washington Post
https://web.archive.org/web/20180303225556/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1989-02-25/news/8901110302_1_engines-honolulu-international-airport-new-zealand
"Aircraft Accident Report, United Airlines Flight 811, Boeing 747-122, N4713U, Honolulu, Hawaii, February 24, 1989"
http://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/ntsb/aircraft-accident-reports/AAR90-01.pdf
Federal Aviation Administration
https://web.archive.org/web/20140714174229/http://lessonslearned.faa.gov/ll_main.cfm?TabID=4&LLID=30&LLTypeID=9
Mayday
The Wall Street Journal
https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19900227/1058277/roots-of-tragedy----parents-seek-reasons-for-death-of-son
"The Last Nine Minutes: The Story of Flight 981"
https://web.archive.org/web/20120219034454/http://www.montereypeninsulaairport.com/DC-10page29.html
The Last Nine Minutes: The Story of Flight 981
https://books.google.com/books?id=LWkvAAAAMAAJ&q=747
"Ethics: Case Studies"
https://web.archive.org/web/20090225011002/http://cset.sp.utoledo.edu/engt2000/Lesson11.pdf
Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-10-03-mn-1599-story.html
"Safety Recommendation Document A-91-83 and −84"
https://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/recletters/1991/a91_83_84.pdf
"Honoring the Crew of United Airlines Flight 811"
https://web.archive.org/web/20160104073942/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?r101:H10MY9-71:
Mayday
Mayday