Haynes and Fitch tried to set the plane down on the runway as early as possible so the drag would slow the plane. "Whatever you do," Haynes said on the recording, "keep us away from the city."Ī DC-10 weighs about 330,000 pounds, and the lack of hydraulics meant no brakes, either. Haynes laughed and replied, "You want to be particular and make it a runway, huh?"īut the situation was grim, and he knew it. The air traffic control cleared United 232 for any runway. The cockpit voice recorder captured the pilots as they neared Sioux City Gateway Airport. A DC-10 typically approaches an airport at just over half that speed. He realized he could not slow the plane to less than 250 mph. The plane took a looping, squiggly flight path over Iowa toward Sioux City.įitch became more adept at handling the throttles. But control over the airplane was so poor that he decided Sioux City was closer and the best spot.
Haynes considered putting down in Lincoln or Omaha in Nebraska or Des Moines. Sioux City the best spot for crash landing 'I'm going to die this afternoon.' The only question that remains is, 'How long is it going to take Iowa to hit me?'" "Dear God, I have 296 lives literally in my two hands," Fitch told documentary filmmaker Errol Morris for a 2001 episode of the series "First Person." "The first thing that strikes your mind is.
The problem: There were no backup plans for a DC-10 with total hydraulic failure. Hayes radioed the FAA and United Airlines for help. Haynes invited Fitch into the cockpit and assigned him to work the throttles. He was on his way home to Chicago for a three-day weekend after teaching a course in Denver. He was an off-duty United Airlines DC-10 flight instructor. Haynes would bring one engine to idle and push the other to full throttle. By adjusting the thrust to the two remaining engines - one on each wing - they could stabilize the plane. Haynes, First Officer William Records and Second Officer Dudley Dvorak eventually gained control of the aircraft. It was in danger of turning upside down, which would have resulted in an immediate crash. The crippled plane began to turn steeply. "Al" Haynes struggled to fly a plane without flight controls. View Gallery: Archive photos: 1989 Flight 232 crash in Sioux CityĬapt.
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