At 1355:05, the first officer advised the tower, "We won't have a nose gear," and at 1356:14, the crew advised the tower, "We'll need all the equipment you've got."

While advancing the power levers to maneuver for the approach, the captain sensed a yawing motion and determined that the No. 1 (left) engine had failed. At 170 to 200 knots lAS, he placed the No. 1 engine start switch to the "flight" position in an attempt to start the engine; there was no response.

A normal descent profile was established 4 miles out on the final approach. The captain said that the airplane was "shaking a little, rocking slightly and felt springy."

Flight 243 landed on runway 02 at Maui's Kahului Airport at 1358:45. The captain said that he was able to make a normal touchdown and landing rollout. He used the No. 2 engine thrust reverser and brakes to stop the airplane. During the latter part of the rollout, the flaps were extended to 40 degrees as required for an evacuation. An emergency evacuation was then accomplished on the runway.

After the accident, a passenger stated that as she was boarding the airplane through the jet bridge at Hilo, she observed a longitudinal fuselage crack. The crack was in the upper row of rivets along the S-10L lap joint, about halfway between the cabin door and the edge of the jet bridge hood. She made no mention of the observation to the airline ground personnel or flight crew.

Damage to Airplane

A major portion of the upper crown skin and structure of section 43 separated in flight causing an explosive decompression of the cabin. The damaged area extended from slightly aft of the main cabin entrance door, rear ward about 18 feet to the area just forward of the wings and from the left side of the cabin at the floor level to the right side window level.