The Crash of United 232

As usual, here are a few extra notes from my background reading on this story.

Other CVR highlights

In this video I read out a few lines from the CVR transcript of this flight… but the full thing is definitely worth a listen (you can hear it in this video). It has to be one of the most interesting CVR transcripts I’ve encountered from any disaster.

The crew have the time and resources to consider so many factors as they’re struggling to bring the plane in to land. They brief a flight attendant on what to tell the passengers, and even ask about how the passengers are faring. They wish the flight attendant luck, and – quite calmly – express their doubt that the cockpit will survive: “I really have my doubts you’ll see us standing up, honey.”

Later on, as they’re coming in to land, they’re calm enough for a little bit of dark humour. When they’re advised that they can land on any runway they like, Captain Haynes replies: “Roger. You want to be particular and make it a runway, huh?” implying that he’s not convinced they’ll manage even that.

And, of course, there’s the very last utterance from the cockpit before the crash: “Oh god.”

Listen to Captain Haynes speak

In the video I mention that Captain Haynes went on to deliver a number of lectures about his experience. Here’s one that he gave to NASA employees. It’s over an hour long, but it’s well worth a listen – it even includes a summary of the accident and some recordings.

Although he’s speaking to a room full of people with experience of the aviation industry, his talk is so clear and to-the-point that it’s perfectly accessible even if you haven’t had any experience in this industry.

Plus he goes into detail about a huge range of things – from his specific experience to the effects of post-traumatic stress, and the importance of preparedness. He says, quite aptly, that nobody is ever ready for a disaster… but with enough training and study, you can at least be prepared.