Crash Landing of United Airlines Flight 232 recreated in MS Flight Sim

This is one of the most god damn terrifying things I’ve ever seen:

I flew on a few flights out of Stapleton in 94-95 before it got closed down in favor of the then-new DIA airport. Not this one, thankfully!

13 minutes of an older version of Microsoft Flight sim, is it really worth watching?

13 minutes later

Damn. I was only 4 when this occurred, so had no idea. That ending… damn.

It is nothing short of a miracle that anyone survived. This is pure existential terror in video form.

I was seriously getting all ready for the ‘the plane landed hard, but they keep enough control to keep it intact. 138 people were treated for injuries ranging from…’ but then that video… I about lost it. They then said that 111 people died, but… it really should say that 185 people survived. Because I don’t know how anyone did.

How many kids died… I can’t even look that up. 50 some odd kids sitting on laps only? Oh god…

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?”

I had to unknot my shoulders after watching that.

Fifty-two children, including four “lap children” without their own seats, were on board the flight due to the United Airlines “Children’s Day” promotion. Eleven children, including one lap child, died. Many of the children had traveled alone.

The passengers who died for reasons other than smoke inhalation were seated in rows 1–4, 24–25 and 28–38. Passengers who died due to smoke inhalation were seated in rows 14, 16 and 22–30. The person assigned to 20H moved to an unknown seat and died of smoke inhalation.

That day, God decided what row you were sitting in.

I shouldn’t have, but I read (skimmed more like) through the article. They got to the Notable Survivors, and had this picture

Now I really have lost it. Just tears.

I need to see this now. You should too @tomchick

It’s on Netflix

Jan Brown Lohr – United 232’s Senior Flight Attendant. She was forced by regulation to ask parents with “lap children” aboard flight 232 to place their children on the cabin floor during the flight’s final moments before impact. One of four children died from smoke inhalation. The dead child’s mother confronted Lohr at the crash scene. Since then, Lohr has lobbied in Washington D.C. for new federal regulations requiring all children to have a seat belt on every flight.

That’s… a bad day.

Dude. Please. You think I haven’t seen that?

I remember reading reviews of Charlie Victor Romeo when it was a stage play and then seeing the movie as soon as it came out. The Flight 232 segment is pretty much the centerpiece of that whole thing. What an amazing way to tell the story. Human emotion trumps special effects any day of the week.

-Tom

On the topic of horrifying experiences on airplanes, this also fits the bill:

“Colorodo” lol

The documentary that Errol Morris made on this is amazing

On board as a passenger was a senior DC-10 instructor for the airline, heading home to Chicago after spending time in Denver training pilots. He also had a pivotal roll. It turns out he had the choice of a number of Chicago-bound flights that day, and by luck or fate or what have you, he ended up on 232.

I recall that the United maintenance hub in San Francisco were being consulted in real-time, and they simply could not believe that the triple-redundant hydraulic system could fail. Once it did get in their heads that it had indeed failed, they didn’t know how to tell the pilots that they were all going to die.

“All three hydraulic systems can’t fail.”

Oh I know her. She married a friend of mine.

LOL no way the actress from Idiocracy in that scene!?!?! Amazing! Do you ever get her to do the line? THE LINE?

Like… out the toilet?

Haha, nope. I’m pretty clueless with actresses, etc. Didn’t know she was even an actress until I had known her for a year or so. Other than Idiocracy, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her any anything. Somebody gave me a sharp elbow for bringing up Idiocracy in front of her once, but I had zero idea she had anything to do with it.

I watched the 232 scene from Charlie Victor Romeo just now. Were the two pilots on either side of the passenger-turned-pilot actually controlling the aircraft at all? Watching the Errol Morris documentary it looks like the aircraft was strictly controlled by throttle.

Wow… I remember watching this in real-time as the plane attempted to land. The news broadcasters were preparing everyone for a “everyone is going to die” kind of situation. It still amazes me that anyone survived, especially the pilots.