No public record has surfaced of a wrongful-death settlement paid to the family of Clarabelle Lansing, the Aloha Airlines flight attendant killed on Flight 243. The lawsuits arising from the April 28, 1988 disaster were largely resolved under confidentiality agreements, and the total compensation paid across all claims has never been publicly disclosed.1The Seattle Times. Boeing Settles With Pilot in Aloha Accident
Who Clarabelle Lansing Was
Clarabelle Lai Moi “C.B.” Lansing was the chief flight attendant on Aloha Airlines Flight 243, a Boeing 737-200 flying from Hilo to Honolulu with 89 passengers and 6 crew on board. At roughly 24,000 feet, about 18 feet of the cabin skin and structure tore away in an explosive decompression. Lansing, 58, was standing in the aisle near row 5 and was ejected from the aircraft.2NTSB. Investigation DCA88MA054
The flight crew landed the crippled jet at Kahului Airport on Maui. Seven passengers and one flight attendant were seriously injured. Lansing was the only fatality. A three-day Coast Guard and Marine Corps search never located her remains.3This Day in Aviation. Clarabelle Ho Lansing Born in Hanalei, Kauai, in 1930, she had worked as a flight attendant for 37 years. A memorial garden in her name was inaugurated at Honolulu International Airport in 1996.
The Settlements That Were Disclosed
Two settlements from the Flight 243 litigation became public, and both involved survivors rather than Lansing’s estate.
Passenger Monte Dreben, 39, of Woodland Hills, California, reached an $850,000 out-of-court settlement with Aloha Airlines for injuries and emotional distress. When it was reported in April 1991, it was described as the largest out-of-court settlement tied to the flight. Dreben was represented by attorney Rick Fried.4Orlando Sentinel. Aloha Airlines Passenger Gets $850,000 Settlement
Captain Robert Schornstheimer sued Boeing in Honolulu Circuit Court, alleging negligence, product liability, and breach of contract, and citing emotional distress and loss of enjoyment of life. The case settled on June 10, 1991, three days before trial. The terms were sealed by a confidentiality agreement.1The Seattle Times. Boeing Settles With Pilot in Aloha Accident Co-pilot Mimi Tompkins reached a settlement with Boeing in the same proceedings, and the details of her agreement were also not made public.5Journal of Commerce. Pilots, Boeing Reach Settlement in 1988 Aloha Airlines Accident
Why Lansing’s Family Settlement Isn’t Public
The confidentiality provisions that covered the pilot cases are the same reason no figure has ever surfaced for a claim on Lansing’s behalf. Many of the agreements arising out of Flight 243 were resolved on sealed terms, and the aggregate value paid by Aloha Airlines and Boeing has never been reported. Silence in the public record isn’t the same as silence in the courtroom. It only means that whatever was paid, if anything, was not filed in a form the press or public could see.
What the Crash Changed
The NTSB found that Aloha Airlines’ maintenance program failed to detect disbonding and fatigue damage in a fuselage lap joint at stringer S-10L. Because the airline flew short island-hopping routes, its 737s were accumulating pressurization cycles at roughly twice the rate Boeing had anticipated, and inspection intervals had not been adjusted to match.6FAA. Lessons Learned From Transport Airplane Accidents – N73711
Congress responded with the Aging Aircraft Safety Act of 1991. The law required the FAA to inspect and review maintenance records for every aircraft used in air transportation, mandated heavy maintenance checks on planes older than 14 years, and directed the agency to write rules for the continuing airworthiness of aging fleets.7DOT Office of Inspector General. Aging Aircraft
The FAA issued Airworthiness Directives requiring eddy current inspections of Boeing 737-200 lap joints, launched the Aging Airplane Program, and introduced mandatory corrosion control programs for all operators. It later codified a “limit of validity” for aircraft structures in 14 CFR Part 26, setting a ceiling on the flight cycles for which an aircraft’s existing inspection program is considered reliable.6FAA. Lessons Learned From Transport Airplane Accidents – N73711 Post-accident inspections of the rest of Aloha’s fleet uncovered severe corrosion, and two of the airline’s 737s were judged beyond economical repair and sold for parts.
Lansing’s death is the reason those rules exist. The financial resolution of her family’s loss, if there was one, stayed behind the confidentiality wall that closed around most of the Flight 243 litigation.