| Same hurricane, different side. This is a well developed storm, and the Hurricane Center people wanted to keep a close eye on it, in case it turned toward Hawaii. That explains why we were sent so far away from land to fly this storm. Just after these pictures we taken, our #3 engine threw a turbine blade. We had to shut it down, declare an emergency, and head for Honolulu. We picked our way through the least turbulent area of the eyewall and eventually landed safe and sound. Once on the ground, we took turns climbing up the maintenance stand to look at the rear part of the ruined engine. It was not a pretty sight. |
