Former pilot speaks

  • Published
  • By Nick DeCicco
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE,Calif. --  A former airline pilot who was at the controls of a commercial airliner that crashed in 1989 in Sioux City, Iowa, spoke May 21 about the experience at the Travis Base Theater.
A pilot for more than 35 years, Al Haynes is most well-known for his role in the DC-10 crash, which is one of the worst accidents in American commercial aviation history.

However, as Mr. Haynes noted, the situation could have been far more dire.

Though 112 died in the crash, 185 survived, a fact Mr. Haynes attributed to a variety of factors including luck.

"Just getting the airplane to the ground took tremendous luck," Mr. Haynes said.

Mr. Haynes and his crew were 37,000 feet above Iowa on July 19, 1989 when a titanium disk in the DC-10's No. 2 engine exploded. Shrapnel from it caused damage to all three of the plane's hydraulic lines, stripping the crew of its ability to steer or brake the aircraft.

It was a disaster of such unusual and catastrophic proportions that when contacted on the ground, workers for the airplane's maker, McDonnell-Douglas, said such a situation was impossible.

"The possibility of a triple hydraulic failure on a DC-10 was estimated at one in a billion," Mr. Haynes said. "I'm here to tell you I know what 'one in a billion' looks like."

Mr. Haynes' presentation at Travis began with several minutes of playback of that day's communications between his United Airlines Flight 232 and the control tower at Sioux City Airport. The pilot and Kevin Bockman, the air traffic controller in charge at the Sioux City airport that day, remain surprisingly calm throughout the ordeal.

Mr. Haynes tells Mr. Bockman that damage to the plane's tail made the jet constantly drift to the right. The crew managed some semblance of control by throttling up and down on the remaining No. 1 and No. 3 engines, making left turns by adjusting the plane's speed.

Helping the flight's three-person crew was Denny Fitch, a United Airlines DC-10 instructor, who happened to be a passenger on the plane that day.

Mr. Haynes said Mr. Fitch's participation was just one example of the luck and communication that day.

Other factors Mr. Haynes attributed to luck were the fact it was a warm, summer day; the once-a-month presence of nearly 300 National Guard members at the airport that day; the fact the incident occurred over the open planes and not near mountains or the ocean; and that it came during the time of shift change at the Sioux City burn and trauma units, increasing the amount of individuals available to care for the wounded.

As the plane slowly wound its way toward the ground in a series of left turns during the course of half an hour, Sioux City emergency officials scrambled to prepare.

One scenario saw the plane landing on a nearby highway.

"Whatever you do, keep us away from the city," Mr. Haynes told the tower on the recording.

Later, as the plane neared the ground, airport officials cleared the skies and the airfield.
The crew and the tower showed remarkable calm given the gravity of the situation, with Mr. Haynes even showing a sense of humor.

"United 232 Heavy ... you're cleared to land on any runway," Mr. Bockman said.

"You want to be particular and make it a runway, huh?" Mr. Haynes joked.

The crew were forced to attempt landing on a deserted runway. Mr. Haynes said in the seconds before impact, emergency crews were moving vehicles out of the plane's path.

The plane hit the ground with twice the force and speed of a normal landing.

The right wing hit first, instantly bursting into flames. The aircraft split in two, with the tail section tumbling across the runway. The nose portion skidded across the runway from left to right, flipping 180 degrees as it rolled.

Mr. Haynes emphasized that having a plan and being prepared for an emergency, as the Sioux City crews were, were essential ingredients in preventing the crash from being much worse.

Mr. Haynes said pilots who programmed the same situation into flight simulators were never able to achieve the outcome he had on that day.

The DC-10 is familiar to Travis members as the base's KC-10 Extender is a military version of the aircraft designed specifically for refueling missions.