What exactly happened to Japan Airline 123?
In: Other
Seven years before the crash, the plane had what is called a “tail strike incident.” This means that on a take-off or landing, the plane had too much pitch, and the tail section of the plane made contact with the runway. Boeing repaired the damage, but it was done wrong.
Now, it’s important to know that airliners are pressurized during flight, because there is not enough air at cruising altitude. If the cabin is not pressurized, the passengers and crew would not be able to breath. Seven years worth of being repeatedly pressurized and depressurized put stress on the faulty repair, causing cracks to form, weakening the structure. On the day of the crash, as the plane gained altitude, the bad repair finally gave out. The rapid depressurization caused even more damage, including the loss of the vertical stabilizer and all of the hydraulic lines being cut. The resulted in the pilots rapidly losing any ability to control the aircraft. As hard as they tried, there was no way that they could recover, and the plane crashed.
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