Part 3/11:
Once cleared for takeoff, the aircraft ascended into the clear skies, and for more than three hours, everything proceeded without incident. Communication and position reports were exchanged between the flight deck and air traffic control, allowing the pilots to focus on routine paperwork and chatter about previous flights and personal lives.
But approximately 200 nautical miles from Honolulu, as the pilots prepared for descent, disaster struck. An internal crack in one of the fan blades, previously undetected during inspections, finally reached its breaking point. In a catastrophic turn of events, the fan blade shattered, causing a violent explosion and resulting in an immediate loss of control of the aircraft.