What a plane crash feels like - United 232

Nothing can prepare you as a first responder when you first arrive at a crash site.
Flt # 191 @ O'Hare. As the 2nd fire rig in....and after being given our orders..we walked through the site. Much of those were burned down...yet the young flight attended that I knelt down next to was only in her 20's and in 1/2. I prayed for her and the others that day.

Even though there was such a loss of life and injuries, there would have been many more but for the superb airmanship. They told Haines later that 4 pilot groups had ran that scenario in the SIM and all totally crashed. It wasn't pretty but when you lose everything, you got to know how to FLY YOUR PLANE.

I re beer reading this talk by Al Haynes back in the '90s on Usenet. It's a fascinating talk about a day where so much went wring but is much went right too. I had the privilege of meeting Mr Haynes a few years ago when I went to a lecture given by Captain Sullenberger at Seattle's Museum of Flight. Captain Haynes was in the audience and introduced himself when he asked a question. My father had been a UAL pilot also based in Seattle when Captain Haynes was starting out so I asked if they'd ever flown together but I guess there was too much seniority difference even though they knew each other.

http://www.clear-prop.org/aviation/haynes.html

Just put it in my amazon cart.

Haynes traveled (travels?) around giving lectures on that day to groups. When I was in undergrad, my dad suggested that my department get him in for our occasional colloquium series. I had the privilege of picking him up at MCI, bringing him to campus and showing him around.

In follow up....there's a small memorial located here near in Des Plaines, IL.
I placed some flowers and a US flag there last year. All of their names are posted there as well. RIP

A microscopic crack in the fan blade of the engine mounted on the tail gave way causing the whole turbine blade assembly to break apart. The aircraft remained essentially intact and flying but the failure tore through all three hydraulic lines in the one spot on the aircraft where they converge draining out all fluid and making the flight controls almost completely useless. The flight crew, assisted by another pilot who had been riding along used differential thrust of the outboard engines on the wing to try to steer the aircraft. They were headed to Chicago if I remember correctly, but the nearest airstrip long enough to where the incident occurred (they were at cruise or just descending from cruise when the failure occurred)was Sioux City, IA. They did a remarkable job and got lined up pretty well on final but one wing dipped and caught the ground at the last second and cartwheeled them. One of the most remarkable displays of Crew Resource Management, piloting skill and sheer bravery I know of. I listened to the cockpit recorder and radio transmissions throughout and they are remarkable.

I'm speechless James. Thanks for the link.

I never will forget the 1st car wreck I rolled up on that had fatalaties and I was a flight medic while in service but I cannot imagine a scene such as that with 150+ dead or injured. I can see preparing but after reading this, all I can say is that you'll not know exactly how you'll react until you get there.

What had happened on United Airlines flight UA232? Could someone explain it to me.

Some years ago, circa 1990, I witnessed a high speed low pass crash of a single engine jet, the model used by the Canadian Red Arrows, in which the pilot at the controls knew just enough to be dangerous, who had purchased the airplane with his father's money (a wealthy oil family). He was performing for the benefit of a film crew at the far end of the runway whose intent was presumably to use the footage for a TV commercial which never aired. Such things were common at the Mojave airport, CA. He had done several high speed low passes but on this, his last and fatal pass, he attempted to roll the airplane from what appeared to be no more than 15 feet above the runway but without benefit of raising the nose sufficiently to begin the roll. Predictably the left wing hit the surface and instantly resulted in disintegration of the airplane in a fireball. My son and I were in the landing pattern doing T&Gs on the crossing runway as part of his instruction in pursuit of his PP license. We landed immediately and were among the first to get to the scene along with the crash crew. Body parts were as scattered as the wreckage. I noticed a single yellow legal pad sheet of paper being blown along with the wind, picked it up and realized it was the pilot's listing of maneuvers he had written down with the fateful roll shown as one of the planned maneuvers.

wow..

This is a very sobering article. I don't know that I would be able to go in and help and not break down at the loss of life and the suffering.

WOW!!!!!

Seems like most of us on here have had some kind of EMT/first responder experience of some kind. The two main themes running thru all these posts of those that have had it is 1. It is not as much fun or as glamorous as it looks to some and 2. That it takes it toll on you personally after a time. It is something you never forget but once away from it you don't necessarily want to go back thru it.

Thanks for the link. This is now on my must-read list.

It's hard to make any sort of comment after reading that.

I've often heard the phrase, but never experienced it - that is, until I read this article... " I was covered in goose bumps!" Even now, my body feels tense. That writing - was so real - and I hope and pray that's as real as it ever gets. Wow!

It is a bit of a challenge just circling for an accurate practice emergency approach to a farm field from 3-5000 feet in a single engine light plane, but those guys maneuvered a multi-ton heavy airliner with no hydraulic assist and no direction from their emergency manuals (this had never occurred before)onto the airport property. They could not get lined up on a runway, too difficult. In fact when they were on final ATC said something to the effect that they were clear for a particular runway and Captain Al Haines called back and joked "So you're going to be specific and make it a runway, huh?" Absolutely amazing job. Unfortunately if memory serves they also had to approach at a higher rate of speed than normal which would add unwanted kinetic energy to the crash impact.

That's TUFF STUFF