Dennis E. "Denny" Fitch (born 1942) is a retired commercial airline pilot. He is best known for his critical actions as an off-duty DC-10 training captain who helped captain Al Haynes minimize loss of life on United Airlines Flight 232 when all flight controls were lost, on July 19, 1989. Fitch used differential throttle adjustment to steer the airliner to an oblique crash-landing at Sioux Gateway Airport, in Sioux City, Iowa, resulting in the survival of 185 out of 296 on-board.[1][2] After the crash, in which he was injured, he returned to flying duties with United Airlines.[3]
He was commended by then-President George H. W. Bush and in Senate Resolution 174 of the 101st Congress, as a result of his feat.[4]
A safety consultant to NASA as a member of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, he is also president of his own aviation consulting firm, specializing in Cockpit Resource Management and human factors, and gives motivational presentations to corporate groups and associations on teamwork, drawing on his experience on Flight 232.[5]
He was formerly a pilot in the Air National Guard, and attended Duquesne University.
Dennis Fitch was interviewed by Errol Morris about United Airlines Flight 232 for the documentary series First Person.[6]