In the early morning hours of February 24, 1989, Flight 811 was traveling from Honolulu, Hawaii to Sydney, Australia with a stop-over in Auckland, New Zealand.While the Boeing 747-122 was still ascending from Honolulu, it was suddenly rocked by a loud sound between 22,000 and 23,000 feet in the air, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Seconds later, a cargo door toward the front of the aircraft ripped off, taking with it a massive chunk of the plane's fuselage and leaving a gaping hole in the cabin and cargo area, according to the FAA.
Nine passengers in that section of the plane were pulled out into the night sky, the AP reported; at least one of them was sucked into an engine.