Matkat: Am fully aware of the hull configuration. The checklist states if there are no apparent pressurization problems, you may continue the flight. BTW, the door was pretty banged up but stayed in place. However, new yellow/orange stripes added very little aesthetic beauty to the underside of the Horizontal stab.
After flying with AAI since '98, I too, would be very interested in My737's defence of his rather incendiary and unsubstantiated B/s comment. Considering the sheer number of sectors we fly, on a very diverse fleet, with an even more diverse crews and MX personnel, AAI MX is pretty damned good!
The ONLY problem we have with MX on the line is that the poor buggers have very little time to do preventative MX on the birds, as we keep 'em flying so much! Hats are off to the AAI wrench turners in my book!
Perhaps we should return this thread to an (ICE) motif, eh? Too many people with NO first hand experience slagging AAI off anyway.