United Flight 232 Crash: Iowa Time Machine July 19, 1989

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On July 19, 1989, United Airlines Flight 232 crash-landed in Sioux City, Iowa, following a catastrophic failure of the plane’s tail-mounted engine. One hundred twelve passengers died in the landing, while an additional 184 people survived the horrific incident.

The DC-10 aircraft took off from Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado, at 2:09 p.m. CST to head for Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. Flown by experienced pilot Alfred Haynes and first officer Bill Records, the plane climbed over the Midwest to 37,000 feet. After a shallow right turn, an unknown manufacturing defect caused the tail-mounted engine to explode and disintegrate roughly an hour after take-off.

Haynes almost immediately cut the fuel to the tail engine at the suggestion of Flight Engineer Dudley Dvorak. The crew worked to steady the aircraft as their control columns failed. Reducing the left-wing engine to idle and accelerating the right-wing engine gradually leveled out the aircraft. Passenger and former DC-10 flight instructor Denny Fitch happened to be aboard and came to the cockpit to assist the crew in preparing for the landing at Sioux Gateway Airport. With the left landing gear mechanism inoperative, the crew successfully deployed the landing gear using gravity. Dumping excess fuel and attempting to steer the plane toward Runway 31, the pilots diverted to a decommissioned runway, which proved easier to line up. With emergency vehicles lined up, Fitch took Dvorak’s seat as the aircraft barreled toward the runway at 250 miles per hour. As the plane descended, it pitched into a dive, with the right wing striking the ground first. Fuel from the gash spilled, igniting immediately, and the tail section broke off on impact. The plan rolled, coming to rest upside-down in a nearby cornfield.

First responders worked fearlessly to rescue the crew and passengers, and their dedication enabled 184 people to survive the terrifying ordeal. One hundred twelve others, including eleven children, some of whom were traveling alone as a part of a ‘children’s day promotion,’ died in the accident. #Iowa #OTD #History #UnitedAirlines #PlaneCrash