"Miss, what's that?" the kid asked the stewardess, pointing to a small crack that he noticed in celing above him. At that point, the crack widens and the entire roof of the airplane is ripped off. Based on a true story. On April 28, 1988, Aloha Airlines flight 243, halfway between Big Island and Maui, suddenly lost an 18-foot section of its front fuselage, due to metal fatigue. At 24,000 feet of altitude, the sudden decompression leaves room for panic in the cabin. But in the flight deck, Captain Schornstheimer and First Officer Tompkins are faced with the difficult task of safely landing the crippled, barely-controllable airliner, as the title says.