Remembering Al Haynes

Captain Al Haynes died last week. I was lucky enough to hear his presentation and spend some time with him in the spring of 2002. I have remembered his message my entire career.

The back story

The Metro Emergency Managers Association was looking for a speaker for their annual end of the year luncheon. The group was skeptical but wanted to see if it was possible to arrange for United Airline Captain Al Haynes to address the group. We knew Captain Haynes had given presentations around the world on what he learned on July 19, 1989 when the DC-10 he was flying with 296 people on board suffered a catastrophic failure.

Haynes was the captain of United Flight #232 from Denver to Chicago when the tail engine began to break up. That resulted in a 12-inch piece of metal cutting all three of the plane’s hydraulic systems and the loss of all of the plane's control systems. Haynes and his crew figured out ways to control the plane, including adjusting the engine speed of the two remaining engines to get some ability to turn right and descend.

As the plane touched down in Sioux City, Iowa, it began to break up. One hundred twelve people on the plane were killed, and 184 survived the high-speed landing. The National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation duplicated what happened to the plane using simulators, and none of the 57 crews who attempted to fly the plane were able to control the airplane all the way to the ground.

Much to our surprise, Captain Haynes agreed to come to the Twin Cities for the presentation. His fee was for us to cover his motel room and meals, and we were to make an appropriate donation to any of his favorite charities. That included a fund for the families of those killed on the flight, a fund for the survivors, a fund for the Sioux City area, and his hometown Little League program.

The presentation

Captain Haynes’ conversational style connected with an audience of public safety professionals. He was humble and thoughtful as he took us through what happened through photographs and the aircraft-to-tower recordings. He gave credit to the crew who worked as a team to try to solve the problem and get the airplane under control. And he credited the United Airlines Crew Resource Management training with providing them with a process. I think his words were similar to: “The captain is in charge, but everyone has a voice at the table.”

In addition to preparation, he spoke about the importance of communication, execution, and attitude. At one point he added, “And don’t forget about luck or fate, if you will” and went on to say how lucky there were that they had good weather, daylight, highly trained air controllers, and the highly trained public safety response on the ground waiting for them in Sioux City. He did not mention PTSD specifically but talked of the importance of getting professional help to deal with stress. He said it had helped him.

He was careful but used humor effectively. When talking about the air controller, he mentioned the controller by name and said he used to work in Chicago but transferred to a less stressful job. The audience chuckled. Humor was also present when the radio recording of the airport tower told Haynes he was cleared for landing on a given runway. Haynes’ response was: “You want to be particular and make it a runway, huh?”

The plane came barreling in with a limited ability to slow down and still keep flying. They did land on the runway but went off to one side and into a corn field.

When he concluded, Haynes asked for questions. There were none. He said this was normal for most audiences given what they had just heard and seen. He said he would stick around if anyone wanted to talk to him privately. And they began to line up. He was as interested in them as they were in him.

As the event wound down, we needed to get Captain Haynes to the airport. In addition for thanking him, someone in our group wished him a good rest of day. Haynes’ response was, “I will be having a great day. I get to umpire a Little League game tonight in my hometown.”

Haynes gave the presentation over 1,500 times around the world as a commitment to those who died on the flight.

Thank you, Captain Al Haynes.

Up next: Funding for Turnout Gear Washers, Extractors, and Dryers

Stay safe, responders.

Rob