Of the four children deemed too young to require seats of their own ( " lap children " ) , one died from smoke inhalation . The NTSB added a safety recommendation to the FAA on its " List of Most Wanted Safety Improvements " in May 1999 suggesting a requirement for children under two years old to be safely restrained , which was removed in November 2006 . The accident sparked a campaign led by United Flight 232 's senior flight attendant , Jan Brown Lohr , for all children to have seats on aircraft . Though it is no longer on the " most wanted " list , aircraft restraints for children under two is still recommended practice by the NTSB and FAA , though it is not required by the FAA as of May 2016 . The NTSB asked the International Civil Aviation Organization to make this a requirement in September 2013 . The accident has since become a prime example of successful crew resource management . For much of aviation 's history , the captain was considered the final authority , and crews were to respect the captain 's expertise and not question him . This began to change in the 1970s , especially after the Tenerife airport disaster . Crew Resource Management , while still considering the captain the final authority , instructs crew members to speak up when they detect a problem , and instructs captains to listen to their concerns . United Airlines instituted a Crew Resource Management class in the early 1980s . The NTSB would later credit this training as valuable toward the success of United 232 's crew in handling their emergency . The FAA made Crew Resource Training mandatory in the aftermath of the accident
Tenerife airport disaster
Tenerife airport disaster
United Airlines Flight 232