Alfred C. Haynes
| Alfred C. "Al" Haynes | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 31, 1931 Paris, Texas |
| Occupation | Airline pilot |
| Children | Laurie Haynes-Arguello |
Alfred C. "Al" Haynes (born August 31, 1931 in Paris, Texas) is a former airline pilot and a regular guest speaker at social events. Haynes gained international fame in 1989, when he, together with the rest of his crew and Dennis E. Fitch, a United DC-10 flight instructor who was a passenger on the flight, limited the loss of life by crash-landing United Airlines Flight 232, a damaged DC-10 jetliner, at Sioux City Airport.
Haynes graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School, in Dallas, in 1948, and then attended Texas A&M University, where he became a member of the university's corps of cadets. Subsequently he entered Navy flight training and was commissioned a Marine Corps aviator. In 1956 Haynes completed his military service and joined United Airlines, eventually climbing up the airline's pilots' ranks until he became a captain. He began flying for United as a Boeing 727 first officer, and was later promoted to DC-8 and DC-10 first officer, before becoming a captain on the Boeing 727. Haynes later became a DC-10 captain. As a pilot for United, Haynes was based at Seattle, Washington for virtually his entire 35-year career.
On July 19, 1989, Haynes became famous for his role in the events during a DC-10 flight headed to Chicago, Illinois from Denver, Colorado. With Haynes as captain, the airliner suffered damage to its number two (center) engine which caused all three of its hydraulic control systems to fail—an unprecedented problem that made the aircraft nearly impossible to fly or land. Captain Haynes, first officer William Records, flight engineer Dudley Dvorak, and Fitch (an off-duty flight instructor who had been a passenger on the flight but came forward to offer his help) figured out how to gain some control of the plane. They were eventually able to get the severely disabled airliner to the Sioux City, Iowa airport, where they crash-landed. A portion of the fuselage ended up in an adjoining corn field. Although there were 111 fatalities, a remarkable 185 people survived the crash.
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