Teamwork in Crisis: Miracle of Flight 232

What started out as an ordinary commercial flight from Denver to Chicago, turned into a catastrophic situation with a miraculous outcome.

While en route on July 19, 1989, United Airlines Flight 232 experienced engine failure to one of its three engines resulting in the loss of all hydraulic systems on the aircraft. With only two engines functioning, Captain Al Haynes and his flight crew managed to bring the plane into Sioux Gateway Airport in Iowa.

While some passengers were lost, 184 survived as a result of a remarkable confluence of events, including the disaster preparedness of the rescue crews on the ground, the flight crew in the air, and the air traffic controllers, who worked together to achieve results that miraculously beat the odds.

Teamwork in Crisis utilizes interviews with key players of this mission, along with actual footage of the incident to illustrate the importance and the value of teamwork under any circumstance.

Through interviews with Captain Al Haynes, the rescue organizers and medical team leaders, along with actual footage of the incident, the program examines these important issues:

• Preparation - Are you ready for what you expect to happen?
  -- What about what you don't expect?
• Luck - Misfortune can strike at any moment.
  -- Is your team willing to create its own good luck?
• Cooperation - How would you cooperate without departmental boundaries?
  -- When a crisis occurs, there won't be any boundaries.
• Communication - How would you communicate if your goals depended on it?
  -- They do, so clear communication is critical.
• Execution - Take a good look at your team's "snapshot".
  -- Do you like what you see?