{"id":28684658,"date":"2026-10-19T07:32:25","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T05:32:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/?p=28684658"},"modified":"2026-10-19T07:32:43","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T05:32:43","slug":"united-airlines-flight-811-cargo-door-1989-747-honolulu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/united-airlines-flight-811-cargo-door-1989-747-honolulu\/","title":{"rendered":"United Airlines Flight 811: The Cargo Door That Tore Open a 747 Over the Pacific"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\n\n<style>\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid #0F1720;background:#fff;color:#0F1720;font-family:inherit;font-size:14px;font-weight:700;line-height:1;letter-spacing:0;text-transform:none;cursor:pointer;box-shadow:none;transition:background .15s,color 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About seventeen minutes later, climbing between 22,000 and 23,000 feet, the jet was rocked by an explosion. The forward cargo door on the right side had burst open, and the explosive decompression ripped away a section of the fuselage above it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A post on Instagram tells the story. It is largely accurate, with a few details worth correcting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"background:#f5f5f5;border-left:4px solid #1a1a1a;padding:18px 22px;margin:24px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:20px\"><li><strong>Date:<\/strong> 24 February 1989<\/li><li><strong>Aircraft:<\/strong> Boeing 747-122, N4713U<\/li><li><strong>Route:<\/strong> Honolulu to Auckland and Sydney<\/li><li><strong>On board:<\/strong> 337 passengers, 18 crew<\/li><li><strong>Failure:<\/strong> Forward cargo door opened at about 23,000 ft, roughly 17 minutes after take-off<\/li><li><strong>Lost:<\/strong> 9 passengers, ejected with their seats<\/li><li><strong>Crew:<\/strong> Captain David Cronin, First Officer Gregory Slader, Flight Engineer Randal Thomas<\/li><li><strong>Final cause:<\/strong> Electrical fault and latch design deficiencies (NTSB, March 1992)<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">A Hole in the Side of the Cabin<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the door went, the pressure difference blew out the floor and wall above it. Ten seats in rows 8 to 12, seats G and H, were torn out of the business-class cabin, and nine passengers were lost over the Pacific. Flight attendant Mae Sapolu was nearly pulled out through the hole and held on until colleagues dragged her back; purser Laura Brentlinger was also pulled to safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the cockpit, the crew assumed a bomb. Lockerbie had happened just two months earlier. They began an emergency descent and a turn back towards Honolulu, only to find that the oxygen system had been damaged and was not working. Debris sucked out of the hole had also been ingested by the two engines on the right wing: number 3 was shut down after it caught fire, and number 4 soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/united-flight-811-fuselage-hole-honolulu.jpg\" alt=\"The hole in the forward fuselage of United Airlines Flight 811 at Honolulu\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">The damage to N4713U after landing in Honolulu. Photo: NTSB, public domain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Landing on Two Engines<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The crew declared an emergency and dumped fuel to lighten the aircraft. With the leading-edge flaps on the right wing damaged, they could not count on full flaps, so they flew the approach fast: the landing speed was about 190 to 200 knots, far above normal for a 747. They touched down in Honolulu about fourteen minutes after declaring the emergency. The evacuation took less than 45 seconds; every flight attendant was injured. All 346 people still on board survived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Captain David Cronin, 59, had about 28,000 flying hours and was close to the mandatory retirement age; it was one of his last trips. He, First Officer Gregory &ldquo;Al&rdquo; Slader and Flight Engineer Randal Thomas later received the Secretary of Transportation&rsquo;s Award for Heroism.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The Wrong Answer, Then the Right One<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The cargo door lay on the ocean floor, so the NTSB&rsquo;s first report, published in April 1990, had to work without it. It concluded that the door had not been properly latched, probably because of damage to its locking mechanism, and pointed to the ground handling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kevin and Susan Campbell, whose son Lee was among the nine lost, did not accept that. They investigated the door&rsquo;s design and history themselves and pressed for it to be recovered. The US Navy brought it up from the seabed in two sections in 1990, from a depth of about 14,000 feet. Then in 1991, the cargo door of another United 747 began to open on its own on the ground in New York. Examining the recovered door and that incident, the NTSB issued a superseding report in March 1992. The probable cause was now an electrical fault: a faulty switch or damaged wiring had caused the latches to turn to the open position during flight, and the latching design did not prevent it. The FAA required new locks on 747 cargo doors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is one of several accidents in which a single structural failure tested a crew to the limit. Four years earlier, a faulty bulkhead repair had brought down <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/japan-airlines-flight-123\/\">Japan Air Lines Flight 123<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">What the Viral Post Gets Right<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The essentials are right: the cargo door failure over the Pacific, the nine passengers lost, the crew&rsquo;s return to Honolulu on two engines, the first report blaming handling, and the Campbells&rsquo; part in proving the real cause. Three refinements. The door failed about 17 minutes after take-off, not 16. The very high landing speed was largely a result of the damaged flaps, not simply of the crew&rsquo;s choice. And the lines attributed to Captain Cronin in the post could not be verified in the NTSB record, so we have not repeated them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DemzUNNjUMY\/\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\"background:#fff;border:0;margin:24px auto;max-width:540px;min-width:280px;width:100%\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DemzUNNjUMY\/\">View this post on Instagram<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Sources: NTSB Aircraft Accident Report AAR-92\/02 (March 1992, superseding AAR-90\/01); Wikipedia, United Airlines Flight 811; NASA Technical Reports Server image archive.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\n\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger mfsh-bottom\" data-mfsh-placement=\"bottom\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button>\n\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\n\n\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\n\n\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>What happened on United Airlines Flight 811?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">On 24 February 1989, about 17 minutes after United Airlines Flight 811 left Honolulu, the Boeing 747&rsquo;s forward cargo door opened at about 23,000 feet. The decompression tore a hole in the cabin and nine passengers were lost. The crew returned to Honolulu on two engines and all 346 others on board survived.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How many people died on United Flight 811?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Nine passengers died on United Airlines Flight 811 when they were ejected with their seats through the hole in the fuselage. There were 337 passengers and 18 crew on board.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What caused the United 811 cargo door to open?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The NTSB&rsquo;s final report of March 1992 found that an electrical fault, a faulty switch or damaged wiring, caused the door&rsquo;s latches to move to the open position in flight, and that the latch design did not prevent it. A 1990 report had blamed improper latching and ground handling, before the door was recovered.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Who found the real cause of the United 811 accident?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Kevin and Susan Campbell, whose son Lee died on United Airlines Flight 811, investigated the cargo door themselves and pressed for its recovery. The US Navy recovered the door in 1990, and after a similar door incident in 1991 the NTSB issued a revised report in 1992.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Who was the captain of United Flight 811?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Captain David M. Cronin, 59, with about 28,000 flying hours, commanded United Airlines Flight 811. With First Officer Gregory Slader and Flight Engineer Randal Thomas, he received the Secretary of Transportation&rsquo;s Award for Heroism in 1989.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Why did United 811 land so fast?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The damaged leading-edge flaps on the right wing meant the crew of United Airlines Flight 811 could not rely on full flaps, so they landed at about 190 to 200 knots, far above a normal 747 landing speed.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What happened to the United 811 aircraft?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The Boeing 747, N4713U, was repaired and returned to service with United Airlines as N4724U. It was retired in 1997, passed to Air Dabia, abandoned at Plattsburgh, New York, after the airline ceased operations, and scrapped in June 2003. The FAA ordered new locking mechanisms for 747 cargo doors.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What happened on United Airlines Flight 811?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"On 24 February 1989, about 17 minutes after United Airlines Flight 811 left Honolulu, the Boeing 747\u2019s forward cargo door opened at about 23,000 feet. The decompression tore a hole in the cabin and nine passengers were lost. The crew returned to Honolulu on two engines and all 346 others on board survived.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How many people died on United Flight 811?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Nine passengers died on United Airlines Flight 811 when they were ejected with their seats through the hole in the fuselage. There were 337 passengers and 18 crew on board.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What caused the United 811 cargo door to open?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The NTSB\u2019s final report of March 1992 found that an electrical fault, a faulty switch or damaged wiring, caused the door\u2019s latches to move to the open position in flight, and that the latch design did not prevent it. A 1990 report had blamed improper latching and ground handling, before the door was recovered.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Who found the real cause of the United 811 accident?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Kevin and Susan Campbell, whose son Lee died on United Airlines Flight 811, investigated the cargo door themselves and pressed for its recovery. The US Navy recovered the door in 1990, and after a similar door incident in 1991 the NTSB issued a revised report in 1992.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Who was the captain of United Flight 811?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Captain David M. Cronin, 59, with about 28,000 flying hours, commanded United Airlines Flight 811. 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The FAA ordered new locking mechanisms for 747 cargo doors.\"}}]}<\/script><div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\">\n<p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/japan-air-lines-123-1985-bulkhead-repair-osutaka\/\">JAL 123: Thirty-Two Minutes With No Flight Controls<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/japan-airlines-flight-123\/\">Thirty-Two Minutes Over the Mountains: The Story of Japan Airlines Flight 123<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Seventeen minutes after leaving Honolulu on 24 February 1989, the forward cargo door of a United Airlines 747 burst open and tore a hole in the cabin. Nine passengers were lost. The crew brought the crippled jet back, and a grieving family helped prove what had really gone wrong.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":28684344,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[666],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28684658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-and-legends"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>United Airlines Flight 811: The 1989 Cargo Door Disaster | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On 24 February 1989 a cargo door blew off a United 747 climbing out of Honolulu. Nine passengers were lost. 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