Part 2/10:
Originally, all seemed well as Flight 811 departed the gate at Honolulu shortly after 1:30 AM. Under the command of Captain David Cronin, a veteran aviator with over 28,000 flying hours, along with First Officer Gregory Slater and Flight Engineer Randall Thomas, the pilots began their ascent. Their Boeing 747, albeit aging and heavily loaded with passengers and fuel, climbed towards 22,000 feet, where turbulence from nearby thunderstorms was anticipated.
As they maintained altitude, the passengers settled into their seats, with many beginning to doze off, unaware of the fateful turn the journey was about to take. Fifteen minutes into their climb, at approximately 1:52 AM, an explosive decompression erupted, shaking the aircraft violently.