United Flight 232 crash review: part lecture, part therapy

  • Published
  • By Col. David Talley
  • 60 Air Mobility Wing public affairs
TRAVIS AFB, Calif. --  For the pilot credited with saving the lives of 184 people in an airline crash nearly 19 years ago, talking about his experiences before and after the crash today is both a lecture on aircrew discipline and a personal therapy for the trauma he experienced. 

Capt. Al Haynes recently spoke to more than 500 Travis Airmen during a special safety presentation at the Base Theatre. That so many survived the crash he attributed to five factors: preparation, communication, cooperation, execution and, most of all, luck. 

Captain Haynes was piloting United Airlines Flight 232 from Denver to Chicago, July 19, 1989 carrying 296 passengers and cruising at 37,000 feet, when at 3 p.m. the DC-10 lost all hydraulic power, making the aircraft virtually uncontrollable. The odds of the aircraft losing all three redundant systems were later estimated at 1 billion to one. 

The resulting attempt to land the aircraft at the Sioux City, IA, airport and the dramatic crash that followed was seen by millions of TV viewers. The event was later made into a television movie. 

According to Captain Haynes, the quick and total response by air traffic control combined with proper cockpit and cabin crew training, proper communications training among ground units, and proper use of available facilities contributed to the outcome. 

Captain Haynes also said that live drill exercises leading to improvements and better planning for a disaster, coupled with thorough training of the cabin and cockpit crews played a part. Everyone responded as their training required, producing a total team effort. Additionally, the local population helped by contributing blood at the hospitals. 

This, plus perfect weather, prevented what could have been an airline disaster without survivors. 

Captain Haynes is often asked if he suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from the crash. Because he was knocked unconscious during the crash he never experienced the crash that followed the landing or its fiery aftermath. Later, at the hospital, he was made to talk about the crash, even when he didn't want to. Each day for five days he talked with a different counselor. He later returned to flying and eventually retired from United. 

The experience taught him how valuable talking was to those suffering PTSD. 

"My wife was a member of AA," he said, "and she told me that we never know how the other person feels, so never say you do." That's especially true of anyone suffering PTSD, he added. 

"The only cure," he said, "is to talk about it, to talk through it." Consequently, these presentations are his therapy, even now, 19 years after the crash. He has suffered other losses since the crash of Flight 232. Several years ago his oldest son died in a motorcycle accident. Then his wife died. Later his daughter needed a bone marrow transplant. 

Through it all Captain Haynes said the biggest lesson he learned is that some things are just out of our control. 

"In the end," he said, "you have to just keep going and live your life as best you can."