3 Older Jets Taken Out of Aloha Service

The president of Aloha Airlines declined Friday to speculate on what caused 18 feet of roof to peel away from one of his company’s jets during flight, saying it would never have been flown “had anyone thought that airplane was unsafe.”

Maurice Myers, Aloha’s president and chief executive officer, said that as a result of the April 28 incident the airline has retired three of its oldest Boeing jets.

“What is most important is that, had anyone thought that airplane was unsafe, we certainly wouldn’t have flown it,” Myers told reporters at the conclusion of a four-day hearing by a National Transportation Safety Board panel investigating the accident.

“We have exhaustively inspected every plane we have and have inspected every airplane beyond what the FAA demands,” he said. “We can never afford to have an accident like that again.”

Nearly 90,000 Flights

The Aloha Boeing 737-200 involved in the incident had been in service for 19 years and had logged nearly 90,000 flights, the second-highest number in Boeing’s 737-200 fleet worldwide.

The safety board panel members heard 19 witnesses testify on why a section of the fuselage peeled off as the Aloha jet flew four miles over the Hawaiian Islands.

A stewardess, Clarabelle Lansing, was pulled out of the plane to her death and 61 passengers were injured, but the pilot and co-pilot managed to land the plane on Maui.

During the hearing, experts testified that airplanes are especially prone to corrosion and cracks in Hawaii’s humid and salty environment. Myers would not discuss the cause, saying he would wait for the outcome of the investigation, due to be completed early next year.

Investigators are trying to determine if structural flaws, poor maintenance by Aloha or a combination of both caused the accident.