Spencer Bailey

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Spencer, being carried away after the crash by Lt. Colonel Dennis Nielsen.

Spencer Bailey (born August 18, 1985) is a surviving passenger of United Airlines Flight 232 that crashed on July 19, 1989, after the DC-10 heading from Denver to Chicago and carrying 296 people suffered a hydraulic failure 37,000 feet over Iowa. The pilots were able to maneuver the jet to Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, where it crash landed, bursting into flames and breaking into sections.

Of those aboard, 112 died, including Bailey's mother, Frances Lockwood. 184 passengers survived, including three-year-old Bailey and his older brother, Brandon. His father, Brownell, and his twin brother, Trent, were not on board the flight.

A memorial eventually was established away from the airport. The statue depicts Lt. Col. Dennis Nielsen carrying Spencer Bailey from the wreckage. It was based on a photograph by Gary Anderson that was published nationally in various magazines and newspapers, including the New York Times. Spencer Bailey became an iconic image of the crash, which was one of the top news stories of 1989.

Bailey is a graduate of Pomfret School in Pomfret, Connecticut and is currently an English major at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, expecting to graduate in 2008. He is a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Bailey's permanent home is in Englewood, Colorado.