Hawaiian jet made 5 flights with damage

By Michele Kayal

Advertiser Staff Writer

A Hawaiian Airlines plane that was damaged in an accident that safety inspectors say made it unfit for flight flew five more times before being taken out of service for maintenance, a federal safety official said yesterday.

Hawaiian Airlines Flight 193 was damaged apparently during a landing at Lihue Airport on June 14 when the tail hit the ground, according to reports by federal aviation safety inspectors.

No holes, tears or other "terribly obvious" damage was evident on the outside of the DC-9, said Davidson Luehring, acting manager of the Federal Aviation Administrations Honolulu flight standards office. But the skin was "bruised" and "abraded," he said, which would have been apparent on inspection. Inside the tail end of the aircraft, the curved aluminum shield that keeps the aircraft pressurized was "buckled." That damage would not have been apparent from the outside of the plane, Luehring said. "The mere fact that you discover scrapes on the skin where the aircraft fuselage has contact to the runway, that in itself is damage, and damage has to be evaluated and if appropriate it has to be repaired," Luehring said. "In any case, theres maintenance action required. That didnt take place in Lihue." Hawaiian reported the accident to the FAA after the fifth flight, Luehring said.

Hawaiian Airlines spokesman Keoni Wagner declined to comment on why the plane continued to fly after it was in the accident.

"It would be premature for us to comment on that until theyve completed their investigation and the report is available," Wagner said.

The Lihue accident was the first in 17 years for Hawaiian Airlines, which appears to have maintained a relatively clean bill of health with the FAA. The last accident, according to the National Transportation Safety Board database, was Dec. 22, 1983, when two flight attendants were injured during turbulence. In 1999, the FAA assessed $46,000 worth of penalties against Hawaiian for five separate violations. Details of those violations were unclear yesterday.

The National Transportation Safety Board, the federal agency that determines probable cause of aviation accidents, is examining details of the June accident and is expected to issue a final report in several months.

The FAA is considering penalties against Hawaiian for flying the damaged aircraft and action against the pilot and co-pilot involved in the accident.

In addition to the damage to the skin and the pressure shield, Luehring said, an indicator that should have signaled that the aircraft had struck the ground failed.

The part is in the NTSBs possession, Luehring said, and is being examined to determine why it failed.

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-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), September 08, 2000