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Back to Podcast EpisodesCaptain Al Haynes, and the Fight to Save United Flight 232 (Part Two)
On July 19, 1989, United Air Lines pilot Captain Al Haynes was confronted with a mechanical failure that threatened all 296 passengers aboard his flight, United Flight 232. The response of Haynes and his crew and the ensuing landing provided one of the most remarkable stories in the history of commercial aviation.
The NTSB and the FAA also immediately began an investigation as to what caused the catastrophic engine failure. But, missing much of the fan disk that came from engine number 2, their investigation bordered on speculation until October 10 when an Alta, Iowa farmer named Janice Sorenson ran into two thirds of the enormous engine part while operating a combine in her corn field. By then, General Electric was offering six figure rewards for any substantial recovery of parts from the damaged engine. Weighing over four hundred pounds and partially submerged in the muddy field, the part still had some of the fan blades attached and GE paid Sorenson 116,000 dollars. Days later most of the rest of the disc was found in another nearby corn field.
But the professionalism and even heroism of the entire crew received national attention and plaudits culminating with a September, 1989 visit of all of the pilots and surviving flight attendants to the White House of George Herbert Walker Bush.
Published on 5 years, 1 month ago