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Al Haynes, United pilot who saved lives in 1989 DC-10 crash, dies at age 87 in Seattle

Al Haynes kisses his daughter Laurie Arguello, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2004, in Seatac, Wash. In 1989 Haynes helped guide a crippled DC-10 into the Sioux City, Iowa, airport 45 minutes after its center engine exploded, saving 184 of the 296 people on board. (KEN LAMBERT / AP)
Associated Press

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Al Haynes, a pilot credited for saving the lives of nearly 200 people by guiding a damaged passenger jet into a crash landing at an Iowa airport in 1989, has died.

Haynes died Sunday at age 87 in a Seattle area hospital, said Gary Brown, an emergency services director for Woodbury County, Iowa. Brown confirmed the death with Haynes’ daughter.

Haynes was hailed for his skill when the United Airlines DC-10 jet lost all hydraulic power after the rear engine exploded during a flight from Denver to Chicago on July 19, 1989. Haynes and his crew used the two remaining engines to steer a course to Sioux City, Iowa, where the plane crashed on the runway, bursting into flames and breaking apart in a cornfield.

There were 296 people on board and 184 survived.