The aircraft returned to Detroit , but , when the crew set the flaps to 35 degrees for landing , the aircraft stabilized in a 1,900 ft/min descent rate that was far too fast for landing . By applying power to the No. 1 and No. 3 Engines , McCormick managed to level off the nose and reduce the descent rate to 700 ft/min . At 7:44 pm , the aircraft touched down 600 m ( 1,900 ft ) down runway 03R , immediately veering to the right and eventually leaving the runway surface . First Officer Whitney applied full reverse thrust to the left engine and idled the right , straightening the aircraft 's path , and eventually starting to bring the aircraft back to the runway . The aircraft stopped 270 m ( 880 ft ) from the end of the runway , with the nose and left gear on the runway and the right on the grass beside it . It happened that while training to convert his expertise to flying the DC-10 , McCormick had practiced , in a simulator , controlling the plane with the throttles in this fashion , in the worst-case scenario of a hydraulic failure . A similar technique was used on another DC-10 in 1989 following a complete loss of hydraulic pressure on United Airlines Flight 232
United Airlines Flight 232
United Airlines Flight 232
American Airlines Flight 96