Flight 232

United Airlines Flight 232

Photo of United Airlines Flight 232 from the NTSB report, with damage highlighted.
Accident summary
Date	July 19, 1989 (1989-07-19)
Summary	Uncontained engine failure due to faulty titanium alloy forging of fan disk leading to loss of flight controls due to ruptured hydraulic systems
Site	Sioux Gateway Airport Sioux City, Iowa, United States
Passengers	279
Crew	17
Fatalities	111
Injuries (non-fatal)	172
Survivors	185
Aircraft type	McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10
Operator	United Airlines
Registration	N1819U
Flight origin	Stapleton International Airport, Denver, Colorado
Stopover	O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois
Destination	Philadelphia International Airport, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

United Airlines Flight 232 was a DC-10, registered as N1819U, that crash-landed at Sioux City, Iowa in July 19, 1989 after suffering catastrophic failure of its tail-mounted engine, which led to the loss of all flight controls. The flight was en route from Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado to O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. Of the 296 passengers and crew on board, 111 died in the accident and 185 survived in total. Despite the deaths, the accident is considered a prime example of successful crew resource management due to the large number of survivors and the manner in which the flight crew handled the emergency and landed the airplane without conventional control.

The accident airplane, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 (registration N1819U), was delivered in 1973 and had been owned by UAL since then. Before departure on the flight from Denver on July 19, 1989, the airplane had been operated for a total of 43,401 hours and 16,997 cycles. The airplane was powered by General Electric Aircraft Engines (GEAE) CF6-6D high bypass ratio turbofan engines.

Captain Alfred C. Haynes, 57, was hired by United Airlines in 1956. He had 30,000 hours of total flight time with United Airlines, of which 7,000 were in the DC-10.

First Officer William R. Records, 48, was hired by National Airlines in 1969. He subsequently worked for Pan American World Airways. He estimated that he had approximately 20,000 hours of total flight time. He had 665 hours as a DC-10 first officer.

Second Officer Dudley J. Dvorak, 51, was hired by United Airlines in 1986. He estimated that he had approximately 15,000 hours of total flying time. He had 1,900 hours as a second officer in the B-727 and 33 hours as a second officer in the DC-10.

Training Check Airman Captain Dennis E. Fitch, 46, was hired by United Airlines in 1968. He estimated that, prior to working for United, he had accrued at least 1,400 hours of flight time with the Air National Guard. His total DC-10 time with United was 3,000 hours, of which 2,000 hours were accrued as a second officer, 1000 hours as a first officer, and 79 hours as a captain.