The Story Of United Airlines Flight 232

The scattered wreckage of United Airlines Flight 232.

Sometimes even the smallest problems can snowball into horrifying tragedies. This was the case for United Airlines Flight 232, which was involved in one of the most harrowing yet unknown aviation accidents. On July 19th, 1989, United Airlines Flight 232 was meant to be a regular flight from Denver to Chicago, but when a seemingly small part of the plane disintegrated, it claimed the lives of 112 passengers. 

United Airlines Flight 232 was a scheduled passenger flight, as mentioned before, from Denver to Chicago, and it had a continuation to Philadelphia. The aircraft was carrying a total of 296 passengers and crew, and it was a sturdy McDonnell Douglas DC-10, a new innovative airliner model manufactured by McDonnell that was meant for long-range flights. 

After every passenger and crew member had boarded, United Airlines Flight 232 lifted into the air at 2:09 P.M. and flew along with no issues. For the first hour, the crew members carried out their routine without any interruptions: passing out snacks, serving drinks, and checking in with the passengers. However, around an hour and fifteen minutes into the flight, at 37,000 feet over Iowa, the aircraft’s tail-mounted engine exploded. It turned out that its titanium fan disk—the central "hub" of the fan blades of an engine—had shattered due to a hidden manufacturing defect, where the strong titanium alloy of the fan disk had gotten cracks due to the high-stress, low-density environment it repeatedly faced at high altitudes. The crack wasn’t something that appeared in an instant; the crack had started during the manufacturing process and slowly grew larger and more brittle over time as the engine accumulated more flight time. And unfortunately, on July 19th, 1989, it reached its breaking point. 

Despite the DC-10 having three independent hydraulic systems to ensure that total failure would be virtually impossible, all three were cut off the moment the fan disk shattered. As a result, the flight crew lost total control of the airplane as it swerved and dove haphazardly in the sky. 

Although this situation would leave many motionless with shock and fear, the crew, including Captain Al Haynes, First Officer William Records, Flight Engineer Dudley Dvorak, and DC-10 training pilot Dennis Fitch, who was actually a passenger that joined the flight crew mid-crisis, acted quickly to save the plane. After countless trial and errors, they discovered that they could control the plane's direction and descent slightly by adjusting the plane’s power to the two remaining wing-mounted engines, which allowed the crew to steer, albeit with great difficulty and manpower. 

For the next 44 minutes, as the flight crew struggled to keep the aircraft in the air, each bump felt like a death sentence. Their end goal was to make an emergency landing at Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, a task that seemed more and more impossible as time passed. But, finally, the crew managed to control the plane just enough to orient it towards the runway. However, they suddenly lost control, and the plane came in too quick, fast, and uneven. Ultimately, this resulted in the right wing contacting the hard gravel ground of the runway and sparking into roaring, red flames that devoured the plane. Only 184 passengers and crew members survived. 

This incident soon appeared in bold, black letters across major newspapers, as journalists scrambled to interview the pilots, flight attendants, and passengers for more inside information on this haunting tragedy. But as the clamor and media died down slowly, only one question remained: what could have been done to prevent this? As scientists and aviation experts analyzed data and tested hypotheses to enhance aviation safety and procedures, the industry underwent significant changes.

First, nearly every aviation model’s design was updated with new safety features after the unexpected failure of three hydraulic systems, once thought to be unbreakable. This incident exposed a pernicious flaw within the DC-10’s designs, and engineers and manufacturers worked tirelessly to redesign all aircraft to ensure that backup systems were truly protected, independent from each other, and resistant to long-term damage. 

Second, the United Airlines Flight 232 incident forever solidified the standards of Crew Resource Management (CRM), which encourages open communication, collaboration, and quick yet calculated decision making among crew members. Captain Haynes and his team set a flawless example of how exactly flight crew should act under immense pressure: they managed to collaborate to create plans and solutions in a stressful environment, minimized damage and casualties, and most importantly, acted rapidly and effectively. Their performance during this incident soon became the gold standard for pilot and crew member training. 

Finally, maintenance and manufacturing protocols were further strengthened and tweaked. After all, it had only taken a microscopic crack in the fan disk to create this whole tragedy. After the accident, inspection procedures—especially for essential parts that faced high stress—were made stricter across the aviation industry. The manufacturing process for titanium was modified to eliminate any issues that could potentially lead to cracks in high stress environments. They used higher melting temperatures and the “triple vacuum” process, which is used in HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) to thoroughly remove moisture and contaminants. 

In the end, the United Airlines Flight 232 accident left its mark on history as a tragedy and a turning point in aviation. With 112 innocent lives lost in an unexpected and horrifying incident, the aviation industry was pressured into innovating safer aircraft for passengers, making it a defining moment where human resilience and strength reshaped aviation safety, training, and maintenance procedures. The legacy of Flight 232 and the things we learned and changed as a result of the incident still lives on in every flight today. It serves as a somber reminder that even the smallest defect can have catastrophic consequences. Yet, it also showed that courage, quick thinking, and collaboration can save lives, even in the face of the impossible.