On a summer day in 1989, the passengers of United Airlines Flight 232 had no idea that their routine flight from Denver to Chicago would soon be a battle for survival. What happened mid-flight was not only catastrophic but defied all odds. The crew’s courageous actions and the terrifying moments that followed would be remembered as one of the most harrowing air disasters in history.
Flight 232 took off from Denver’s Stapleton International Airport on July 19, 1989, bound for Chicago. The DC-10 aircraft, carrying 285 passengers and 11 crew members, seemed to be running smoothly—until it wasn't. At 37,000 feet, a sudden and devastating explosion ripped through the aircraft. The No. 2 engine in the tail of the plane had catastrophically failed. Shrapnel tore through hydraulic lines, leaving the aircraft with no control over its basic functions.
"We heard this loud bang, and suddenly, everything went silent," one passenger later recalled.
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