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Movie overview True story of the "Sioux City crash", the United DC-10 that lost all hydraulic systems over Iowa and attempted crash landing. Miraculously, there were more survivals than casualties. Originally published in May 1999. Re-edited in December 1999. |
 he movie I'm about to mention is one of the most incredible surviving stories I have seen, besides the "Miracle of the Andes", or the Rugby team who survived thanks to cannibalism. This is the story of a city fully prepared for any air disaster, a commercial airliner which lost all hydraulic systems, an experienced Captain, and over 370 souls on board... brought together on a beautiful day, July 19, 1989. Here is A Thousand Heroes, also known as Crash Landing: The Rescue of Flight 232.
 Plot summaryI must say before I start that since I saw this movie a long time ago, and only in French, I cannot give many details, but I will do my best. So, the movie starts with what seems to be the air disaster already. Many children lying unconscious on the grass, fire trucks around, ambulances, paramedics, all kinds of rescuers and... a burning school bus. This is all one of the numerous safety drills at the Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, one of the best-prepared cities in case of a disaster. Several months later, we see United Airlines flight 232, a DC-10, on departure from Denver Stapleton Airport at 2:09PM local time, bound for Chicago. Capt. Al Haynes flies the aircraft, assisted by First Officer William Records, and Second Officer Dudley Dvorak. The aircraft finally reaches its cruising altitude of 37,000 feet and later, the Captain talks to the passengers over the P.A. during food service. A flight attendant pops in the cockpit, mentioning that the "Aloha" meal service wasn't very appreciated. At that moment, at 3:16PM local time, a large explosion is heard and the plane is heavily shaken and almost out of control. Capt. Haynes realizes he has very marginal control over the aircraft. "Very little elevator, and almost no ailerons, we're controlling the turns by power". What is happening? The gauges indicate immediate drop of hydraulic pressure for Engine 2, which just exploded, damaging the accessory drive section of Engine 2, which took out the hydraulics for the #2 system. The debris following the explosion damaged the two other systems. And a DC-10 has 3 hydraulic systems only. 
The aircraft is flying over the flatlands of Iowa. Minneapolis Center advises flight 232 that the closest airport with a long enough runway for a DC-10 is Des Moines (170 miles), but even closer is Sioux City (70 miles). Second Officer Dudley Dvorak contacts United Maintenance in San Francisco, but even with all the computers, books and information they have, they are not much of a help in this incredible situation.
The plane starts a descent and, assisted by Captain Dennis Fitch, a flight instructor flying as a passenger, gives a hand to the cockpit crew by controlling the throttles to make the turns... to the right (or was it the left?). In the meantime, all the emergency teams are ready at Sioux City, being reminded that "this is not a drill", from the firefighters coming from many communities around, to the nurses and doctors in the nearby hospitals, and the Air National Guard with 285 National Guardsmen that day at the airport. As Capt. Haynes reminds it during a conference, one of the factors that lead to the number of survivors was that it was the only day of the month when the Air National Guard team was on duty at Sioux City. Assisted by a trainee ATC controller at Sioux City, Capt. Haynes and his crew guide (a very loose term, considering the marginal controls) the aircraft to runway 31. The teams are ready, parked on runway 22 at Sioux Gateway Airport, ready to act quickly at runway 31. But problems with controls lead the aircraft straight into runway 22. Just in time, the fire trucks and the rescue teams clear the runway. The aircraft has the gears down and is on final. The final approach. The final moment. About two minutes before touchdown, the aircraft is perfectly aligned. There is nothing but open fields at the end of the runway so "lenght won't be a problem". Unfortunately the perfect alignment doesn't remain the same right before touchdown. The aircraft tips to the right because of a crosswind. If the aircraft had hydraulic systems and was fully operational, it would be easy to correct that or, at worse, make a missed approach. But unfortunately the aircraft is completely misaligned to the runway and... crashes. An amateur video shows the DC-10 coming to the airport, and a TV camera filmed the DC-10 making a rather ill-fated landing. I will spare any technical information about how the DC-10 crashed. On that sunny day of July 18, 1989, 112 people died. But thanks to many factors, including the beautiful weather, the efficiency of the communications, but mostly the readiness of Sioux City, 184 people survived, including Capt. Haynes and his flight crew. People say that if that DC-10 would have landed at another airport, there would have been less survivors. I cannot say less than agree. Sioux City is at the time one of the best prepared cities for disasters, if not THE best. Many people helped make a difference that day. So there really were about A Thousand Heroes. There are, as Capt. Haynes says, five factors that explain the amount of survivors: "luck, communications, preparation, execution, and cooperation". Read more about them on the link given at the end of this review. AppreciationAll I can say is that the movie makes an excellent re-creation of the event. The scenes are very realistic, the actors are good, particularly Charlton Heston as Captain Haynes. We even recognize "trademarks" of the crash, such as the survivors emerging from the corn fields, the child saying he jumped from the plane as it was "landing", and the man carrying a very young survivor in his arms. That scene has inspired the memorial statue of the Sioux City crash. One thing that could be either good or wrong is that the passenger cabin is never shown (except among the debris). We never see the reactions of the passengers to this incoming tragedy. This great movie gets an 8.5 out of 10. If you want some good real-life action about an event that proved how cooperation and readiness can save lives, go rent Crash Landing: The Rescue of Flight 232.
Things to noticeThis is the only technical goof I noticed up to now. If you have anything else to add, please contact us.
The aircraftIt is a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 flown by United Airlines, flight number UA232, registry N1819U, from Denver Stapleton to Chicago O'Hare. Movie links If you have other URLs to add to this list, or to report a dead link, please contact us.
SpecificationsU.S.A. 1992. Produced by Helios Productions, World International Network and others. Directed by Lamont Johnson. Starring Charlton Heston, Richard Thomas, James Coburn, Leon Russom, John M. Jackson, Tom O'Brien. Rated PG-13. | |||||
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 United DC-10: by Sergio Ortega, captured and modified from Microsoft Flight Simulator 98. Crash picture: from The Ultimate Crash Site. © 1998-2008, airodyssey.net. All rights reserved. Disclaimer, trademarks, privacy policy. | |||||
