Nov. 18, Palm Springs, Calif. / Boeing 767

At about 09:00 PST, a Boeing 767-223 operated by American Airlines as Flight 160 suffered a rapid decompression during climb. The pilot made an emergency descent and landed without additional incident at the Palm Springs International Airport. Two of the 10 flight attendants and four of the 111 passengers reported minor injuries. The flight crew said the jet was climbing through 32,000 feet when they heard a rumbling sound followed by the illumination of the Center Duct Leak light on an overhead panel. Unable to control the rate of depressurization, the crew performed the Explosive Depressurization procedure and descended to 10,000 feet. An examination of the airplane revealed the main cabin air supply duct ruptured at a weld.