Another major DC-10 crash was the United Airlines Flight 232 crash at Sioux City , Iowa , on July 19 , 1989 . The number two ( tail ) engine suffered an uncontained fan disk failure in flight , which damaged all three hydraulic systems and rendered the hydraulic flight controls inoperable . The flight crew , led by Captain Al Haynes and assisted by DC-10 flight instructor flying as a passenger ( Dennis E. " Denny " Fitch ) , performed an emergency landing by constantly adjusting the thrust of the remaining two engines . The crew managed to fly the aircraft onto the runway in a partially controlled manner , and 185 of the 296 people on board survived ( 111 died ) despite the destruction of the aircraft during the crash landing
United Airlines Flight 232
United Airlines Flight 232
McDonnell Douglas DC-10