Al Haynes, the captain of the UA232 flight that crashed 30 years ago, has
died. Haynes (87) achieved heroic status after he and his crew made an
emergency landing at the Sioux City airport with a heavily damaged DC-10.
 
Flight UA232 went from Denver to Chicago on July 19, 1989. More than an
hour after departure, a fan disk released into the tail motor, causing it
to explode. Flying debris made the hydraulic systems no longer work.
 
The sixteen-year-old aircraft became practically uncontrollable as a
result. By playing with the engine power of both still working engines, the
crew managed to keep the plane more or less under control. In this way the
rescue services in Sioux City were given the necessary time to prepare for
the sudden emergency situation.
 
The aircraft made an emergency landing at Sioux City airport 45 minutes
later under very difficult circumstances. Because the flaps did not work,
the aircraft had a much too high horizontal speed and "sink rate"
when landing. The DC-10 turned on its side, broke into various parts and
caught fire. Of the 296 occupants, 111 were killed, but thanks to the crew
there were no more.
 
The accident with flight UA232 was seen as a textbook example of Crew
Resource Management (CRM). "Until 1980 we worked more or less on the
principle that the captain was THE authority on board," Haynes said
about that later. "As a result, we have lost several aircraft."
According to Haynes, applying CRM was no more than logical. "Why would
I know better how to land that aircraft under these circumstances than the
other crew members?"
 
Watch this video for the whole story:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZKxMkvOaaA

--- D'Bridge 3.99