Extraordinary story of UA Flight 232

Yesterday was the 28th anniversary of the deadliest single-aircraft accident in history, which occurred in Japan, JAL flight 123. The accident was the result of total loss of all control over the aircraft except engine thrust. Such a loss of all control is very rare and almost guaranteed to be catastrophic. Despite the loss of control the flight crew were able to keep the aircraft flying for over 30 minutes, enough time for many passengers to write notes to their loved ones.

In reading about it on Wikipedia there is one interesting note at the end of the article:

United Airlines Flight 232 was another case where all control surfaces failed. Dennis E. Fitch, a DC-10 instructor who had read about the JAL 123 crash and had practiced flying with throttles alone in a simulator, used a steer-by-throttle technique to guide the United plane to an emergency landing at Sioux City, Iowa. Although a wing struck the ground at touchdown and the plane broke up and caught fire, 185 out of 296 passengers and crew survived.

This documentary is an interview with the man who landed UA Flight 232. If you watch all four parts till the very end you will see how even survivors of things like this are victims. If it had not been for this one man’s abilities its likely that everyone on the flight would have died. Yet he still felt guilty about the loss of life.

Its a remarkable story.