MEdwards
05-15-2012, 04:52 PM
Do you recognize the name Denny Fitch? I didn't until I read that he died last week.
He was the pilot who was controlling the throttles of the United DC10, flight 232, that made it to the runway at Sioux City in 1989 after the loss of all hydraulic pressure and therefore all its flight controls. The captain of that flight, Al Haynes, was deservedly recognized as a hero, and everybody's heard of him. But I, for one, did not know who that extra guy was on the flight deck, kneeling behind the throttle quadrant, controlling the plane by throttles alone. He made it to the runway, and well over half the people aboard survived the crash.
I found a highly edited interview with Capt. Fitch here: http://rvnewsletter.blogspot.com/2012/05/on-denny-fitch.html
The interview is very informative and very moving, particularly at the end where he describes finally being back in command of another DC10 about a year after the accident, having recovered from terrible injuries. He says, "I've never gone to work. I've only gone to fly."
He was the pilot who was controlling the throttles of the United DC10, flight 232, that made it to the runway at Sioux City in 1989 after the loss of all hydraulic pressure and therefore all its flight controls. The captain of that flight, Al Haynes, was deservedly recognized as a hero, and everybody's heard of him. But I, for one, did not know who that extra guy was on the flight deck, kneeling behind the throttle quadrant, controlling the plane by throttles alone. He made it to the runway, and well over half the people aboard survived the crash.
I found a highly edited interview with Capt. Fitch here: http://rvnewsletter.blogspot.com/2012/05/on-denny-fitch.html
The interview is very informative and very moving, particularly at the end where he describes finally being back in command of another DC10 about a year after the accident, having recovered from terrible injuries. He says, "I've never gone to work. I've only gone to fly."