Alfred C. Haynes

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Alfred C. "Al" Haynes (born 1932 in Dallas, Texas) is a former airline pilot and a regular guest speaker at social events. Haynes gained international fame in 1989, when he, together with Dennis E. Fitch, a United DC-10 flight instructor who was a passenger on the flight, limited the loss of lives by crash-landing United Airlines Flight 232, a damaged DC-10 jetliner, at Sioux City Airport.

Haynes attended Texas A&M University, where he became a member of the university's corp of cadets. He took one semester off to learn about aviation at a naval station.

In 1956, he graduated from aviation school and joined United Airlines, eventually climbing up the airline's pilots' ranks until he became a main captain. He started flying for United as a Boeing 727 co-pilot, and was later promoted to DC-8 and DC-10 co-pilot, before becoming a captain on the Boeing 727. Haynes later became a DC-10 captain. As a worker for United, Haynes was based at Seattle, Washington.

On July 19, 1989, Haynes became famous for his role in the events during a DC-10 flight headed to Chicago, Illinois from Denver, Colorado. With Haynes as captain, the airliner suffered damage to its number two engine which made all three of its hydraulic control systems fail^[1]. Haynes, with the help of Fitch (who had been a passenger on the plane but offered his help) crash-landed the airplane at the Sioux City, Iowa airport, where a fuselage section ended up in an adjoining cornfield. While 112 people died, 184 survived.

Haynes kept his sense of humor during the emergency, as recorded on the plane's CVR:

Fitch: I'll tell you what, we'll have a beer when this is all done.

Haynes: Well I don't drink, but I'll sure as hell have one.

and later:

Sioux City Approach: United Two Thirty-Two Heavy, the wind's currently three six zero at one one; three sixty at eleven. You're cleared to land on any runway.

Haynes: [laughter] Roger. [laughter] You want to be particular and make it a runway, huh?

A more serious remark often quoted from Haynes was made when ATC asked the crew to make a left turn to keep them clear of the city:

Whatever you do, keep us away from the city.

After the crash, Haynes continued as an airline pilot until his retirement in 1991. Several United 232 survivors flew as passengers on his final flight as an airline pilot. Haynes received major media attention when Charlton Heston played him in a 1992 movie A Thousand Heroes. The story of Flight 232 was famous worldwide, and Haynes started speaking about it at lunches and meetings. He also became a post traumatic stress disorder speaker and emergency situations trainer.

In 1997, his oldest son died after a motorcycle accident, and his wife died in 1999. His daughter Laurie Haynes-Arguello (born 1964) gained media attention in 2001 when she was diagnosed with aplastic anemia. By 2003, her disease was in an advanced stage and she required a bone marrow transplant. Because his daughter's insurance would not cover the operation, Al Haynes needed help from the Air Line Pilots Association, which donated money and brought the Haynes' monetary plight to light. Many survivors of Flight 232 found out about the case and they also helped raise money. Eventually, his daughter was able to get the transplant.