Al Haynes

Alfred Clair Haynes (August 31, 1931 – August 25, 2019) was an American commercial airplane pilot. He flew for United Airlines and was highly regarded for his handling of the Flight 232 crash in Sioux City, Iowa in 1989. He subsequently became a public speaker on aviation safety.

Alfred C. "Al" Haynes
Lecturing members of the 305th Air Mobility Wing in 2012
Born(1931-08-31)August 31, 1931
DiedAugust 25, 2019(2019-08-25) (aged 87)
Seattle, Washington
OccupationAirline pilot
ChildrenLaurie Haynes-Arguello

Early life

Al Haynes was born in Paris, Texas, on August 31, 1931.[1] He attended Texas A&M College (now Texas A&M University) prior to joining the Navy.[2] After four years in the Navy he joined United Airlines, where he rose through the ranks for the next 35 years. He retired in 1991.[3]

Career

Military career

Haynes lost his draft deferment while taking a semester off from Texas A&M, while the United States was engaged in the Korean War, and decided to join the US Navy.[4] He spent four years in the Navy, serving as a pilot.

United Airlines flying career

Haynes joined United Airlines after his wartime service.[1] For most of his career with United Airlines he served as a flight engineer or co-pilot, turning down offers of promotion, because they would have required moving from Seattle. However, in 1985, he did accept a promotion to Captain, because he would approaching retirement soon, and his retirement pay would be based on his pay in his last five years.

On July 19, 1989, Haynes was the Captain of United Airlines Flight 232, piloting a DC-10, a large three-engined airliner, carrying 292 passengers and crew.[5] The plane had left Denver for Chicago, with a final destination of Philadelphia, but experienced a catastrophic engine failure in its rear engine, which triggered a loss of hydraulic fluid. Without hydraulic fluid Haynes and his flight crew could not move the plane's flaps and rudder and almost all other control surfaces.

Without flight controls the plane was turning to the right.[5] Haynes shut down the left engine, controlling the turn to the right by adjusting the amount of thrust from his last active engine, the right engine.

An off-duty pilot, Dennis Edward Fitch, joined Haynes and his co-pilot, William Roy Records, and flight engineer Dudley Joseph Dvorak, on the flight-deck.[5]

The plane was diverted to Sioux City, for an emergency landing.[5] With his very limited ability to control the plane Haynes had difficulty lining up on a runway, and performing the crucial step of reducing speed and landing nose-up. Consequently the plane came in at almost twice the desired landing speed, with catastrophic damage to the airframe. The plane broke into pieces, on the runway, with remaining fuel bursting into flame.

180 people survived the crash-landing.[5] 32 died of smoke inhalation, 80 died of traumatic injuries. Haynes and his colleagues were trapped in the cockpit. Thirty minutes after the crash-landing rescuers identified the cockpit and rescued them, with minor injuries.

Haynes returned to flight duty, after his recovery.

Career after United Airlines

According to NPR, "Haynes is widely seen as a hero among aviation experts, akin to Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and his 'miracle on the Hudson.'"[6]

He was also a volunteer umpire for Little League Baseball for over 33 years and a stadium announcer for high school football for more that 25 years.[2][3] He was an umpire in the 1978 Little League World Series.[7]

He was referred to as a hero, but refused to say he was one. He gave all the credit to the flight attendants, whom he believed did not receive enough credit for the work they did.[8][9]

Awards (incomplete list)

Death

Haynes died on August 25, 2019 in a Seattle hospital after a brief illness, six days before his eighty-eighth birthday.[11][12] When Haynes died in August 2019, United Airlines issued a statement thanking him for "his exceptional efforts aboard Flight UA232".

References

  1. Joe Godfrey (1999-09-29). "Al Haynes". Aviation Web magazine. Retrieved 2020-04-04. After four years in the Navy he joined United Airlines, where he rose through the ranks for the next 35 years.
  2. "Capt Al Haynes Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Wall of Honor". 17 January 2016. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  3. "Little League® International Honors the Memory of Hero Pilot, LLBWS umpire, Al Haynes". littleleague.org. August 26, 2019. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  4. Alfred C. Haynes (June 1991). "United 232: Coping With the "One-in-a-Billion" Loss of All Flight Controls" (PDF). Flight Safety. 48 (6): 1–10. The following is what he considers five primary factors involved in making it possible to cope with a major inflight emergency such as the one-in-a-billion loss of all flight controls
  5. Aircraft Accident Report, United Airlines Flight 232, McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10, Sioux Gateway Airport, Sioux City, Iowa, July 19, 1989 (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. November 1, 1990. NTSB/AAR-90/06. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
  6. Kennedy, Merrit (August 26, 2019). "Al Haynes, Pilot From Miraculous 1989 Crash Landing, Has Died". Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  7. Genzlinger, Neil (September 24, 2019). "Alfred Haynes, Pilot Who Saved Scores in Crash Landing, Dies at 87". New York Times. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  8. Finney, Daniel (August 27, 2019). "Al Haynes, pilot of United Flight 232 and reluctant hero, dies 30 years after deadly crash in Iowa". Des Moines Register. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  9. Jones, Al (August 26, 2019). "Remembering Al Haynes, the pilot who guided United Flight 232 to its crash-landing at Sioux Gateway Airport". ktiv.com. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  10. Kanki, Barbara G.; Anca, José; Chidester, Thomas R., eds. (2019). Crew Resource Management. Elsevier. p. xxxvi. ISBN 978-0-12-812995-1.
  11. Dreeszen, Dave (August 26, 2019). "Al Haynes, pilot of Flight 232, dies at 87". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  12. Leasca, Stacey (August 27, 2019). "Heroic United Airlines Pilot Dies 30 Years After Saving 184 Passengers in Iowa Crash". travelandleisure.com. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
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