United Airlines Flight 232
Wreckage of the aircraft | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | July 19, 1989 |
| Summary | Uncontained engine failure due to fan disk separation resulting in loss of hydraulics and loss of control |
| Site |
|
| Aircraft | |
| N1819U, the aircraft involved in the accident, seen in 1980 with a previous livery | |
| Aircraft type | McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 |
| Operator | United Airlines |
| IATA flight No. | UA232 |
| ICAO flight No. | UAL232 |
| Call sign | UNITED 232 |
| Registration | N1819U |
| Flight origin | Stapleton International Airport, Denver, Colorado, U.S. |
| Stopover | O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Destination | Philadelphia International Airport, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupants | 296 |
| Passengers | 285 |
| Crew | 11 |
| Fatalities | 112 |
| Injuries | 171 |
| Survivors | 184 |
United Airlines Flight 232 was a regularly scheduled United Airlines flight from Stapleton International Airport in Denver to O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, continuing to Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia, United States. On July 19, 1989, the DC-10 serving the flight crash-landed at Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, after suffering a catastrophic failure of its tail-mounted engine due to an unnoticed manufacturing defect in the engine's fan disk, which resulted in the loss of all flight controls. Of the 296 passengers and crew on board, 112 died during the accident, while 184 people survived. Thirteen passengers were uninjured.
Despite the fatalities, the accident is considered a good example of successful crew resource management, still a relatively new concept at the time. Contributing to the outcome was the crew's decision to recruit the assistance of a company check pilot, on board as a passenger, to assist controlling the aircraft and troubleshooting of the problem the crew was facing. A majority of those aboard survived; experienced test pilots in simulators were unable to reproduce a survivable landing. It has been termed "The Impossible Landing" as it is considered one of the most impressive landings performed in the history of aviation.