On a flight from Honolulu to Los Angeles, the plane had been flying for seventeen minutes.  As it was passing from 22,000 feet to 23,000 feet, the flight crew heard a loud “thump” which shook the aircraft. A second later, the forward cargo door blew off. The door swung out with such force that it slammed into the side of the fuselage, bursting the fuselage open.

The explosion knocked out two of the plane’s four engines. Nine passengers seated in business class died when their seats were sucked out of the plane.

Shari Peterson  was a passenger on that flight.

As the airplane neared the airport, the landing gear was extended. The flaps could only be partially deployed as a result of damage.  This meant a higher than normal landing speed of around 200 miles per hour. The Captain was able to bring the plane to a halt. Twenty two minutes  had elapsed since the emergency was declared. All the passengers and flight attendants exited the plane in less than 45 seconds. Every flight attendant suffered some injury during the evacuation, ranging from scratches to a dislocated shoulder.

Engineers examining the plane wondered at how the plane with all that damage could have flown those 22 minutes and then landed safely.

Someone once asked the captain how he handled the situation with so many emergencies taking place at the same time.  “I just prayed,” was his reply. “I just prayed and got on with it.”