Flight 232: A Story of Disaster and Survival (55 page)

Susan White, twenty-five, comforted Cynthia Muncey during the last minutes of her life. White then survived in her jump seat in the tail and went on to rescue and assist others.
Photo from the Collection of Susan Callender

At the prayer service in honor of the first anniversary of the crash, Susan White and her fiancé, Dan Callender, a United pilot, asked Gregory Clapper, chaplain of the 185th, to preside at their wedding along with the pastor at their church.
Photo from the Collection of Susan Callender

NOTES ON SOURCES

I
conducted all interviews in 2012, except where noted. Citing each instance of material from those interviews would make the “Notes” impractically long. Instead, I provide a list of all the interviews in alphabetical order. All actions by and quotations from people on the list come from those interviews unless otherwise attributed.

In cases where a source is not obvious, I cite it in a note, with the corresponding page number from this book and an identifying phrase.

Where I cite interviews, I do so by giving the person’s last name only; when there may be confusion between two names (for example, Jan Brown and Gary Brown), I use whole names. A last name can sometimes refer to more than one source. For example, “Cherolis; Cherolis 2008,” refers to my interview with Nicholas Cherolis and a published paper by him (previously cited) in 2008.

Dennis Fitch died in 2012 before I was able to interview him. Personal material and quotes from him come from Rosa Fitch, his widow, and from an interview by Errol Morris.

In cases where a person was not available to verify the spelling of his or her name, I have compared documents from the NTSB and United Airlines with published sources (
New York Times
,
Los Angeles Times
, and
Sioux City Journal
, for example). Where I could determine it, I have used people’s names in accordance with their preference, such as Frank (not Francis) Hilldrup and Jim (not James) Walker. Where a given name appears in shortened form in official documents, I have used that form (Joe Epperson, for example).

I have left conversational quotes as transcribed from the interviews and verified them with the individuals involved.

I exchanged hundreds of follow-up personal communications with those I had interviewed. These took the form of e-mails, letters, and phone calls or conversations in person. They are cited as “pers. comm.” In some cases, I had personal communications with someone I did not formally interview.

Unless otherwise cited, all references to documentation from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) come from the investigation identified by the number DCA89MA063, Docket 437. The NTSB distributes this collection of scanned pages in TIFF format (a digital file with a name ending in .tif, such as A39915-ADD6.tif). Much of Docket 437 is arranged as exhibits, so any citation using the word
Exhibit
comes from this NTSB docket. If the exhibit has an author listed, I cite the author’s name and the date where available. If an exhibit has no author named, I cite exhibit numbers. If a document is not part of an exhibit, I cite the TIFF file name and page numbers. When I cite an exhibit without page numbers, I am citing the entire exhibit.

Where I have used the published report of the investigation, known as “Aircraft Accident Report” AAR-90/06, I cite that as “AAR-90/06” followed by page numbers.

The NTSB began a four-day public hearing on October 31, 1989, in Sioux City, Iowa. A court reporter recorded everything that was said. The NTSB published this as the “Official Transcript of Proceedings.” I cite this document (in file A39915-ADD2.tif) as “NTSB Transcript,” followed by page numbers.

General Electric prepared an accident report of its own. It was directed to Robert M. MacIntosh Jr., investigator in charge at the NTSB, and dated March 23, 1990. The document (in file A39915-ADD5.tif) is titled “Aircraft Accident Report United Airlines, Inc. Landing Accident July 19, 1989, Sioux City, Iowa, Comments Submittal to the National Transportation Safety Board.” I cite this document as “GE Comments,” followed by page numbers.

Erasable white boards in an office adjacent to the temporary morgue were used to list information about each victim of the crash. Information from those boards is taken from photographs of the boards and cited as “White boards.”

The 185th Tactical Fighter Group, Iowa Air National Guard, is abbreviated as 185th.

I have struggled with how to acknowledge everyone who helped to make this book possible and there are truly too many to name. The people of Flight 232 opened their hearts to this project in ways that I could not have imagined. They included passengers, flight attendants, flight crew, air traffic controllers, fire fighters, law enforcement officers, journalists, emergency responders, doctors, nurses, pathologists, forensic dentists, families of those who lost their lives, volunteers from the Air National Guard and elsewhere, the Iowa Department of Public Safety, investigators from the NTSB and other agencies, and many others. They are the true creators of this book.

I would also like to thank the many early readers who made valuable contributions to this book. I could not have written
Flight 232
without tireless support from my wife Debbie. She and I would like to thank the people of Siouxland for their generous assistance and warm hospitality. They made us feel that we had found a second home there.

Special thanks to Carolyn Lorence.

LIST OF INTERVIEWS

Ayers, Ellen, respiratory therapist, St. Luke’s Hospital. Telephone, August 3.

Badis, Ellen, passenger, seat 17-F. Telephone, May 2.

Barrett, Arthur, ultrasound inspector, United Airlines. Telephone, February 12, 2013.

Bates, John, air traffic controller. Telephone, June 6, and pers. comm.

Bayless, Brad, passenger, seat 17-H. Telephone, April 11.

Bendixen, Romaine “Ben,” flight surgeon, 185th. Telephone, August 2 and 5, and pers. comm.

Benham, Bruce, passenger, seat 16-H. Telephone, March 22.

Benzon, Robert, investigator, NTSB. Telephone, July 10, and pers. comm.

Boxum, Bob, cameraman, KTIV. Telephone, March 9, 2013.

Brate, Floyd, electron microscopist at General Electric. Telephone, November 28.

Brown, Gary, director of Woodbury County Disaster and Emergency Services. Telephone, July 9; personal, July 17, 18, and 19; January 14, 2013; and pers. comm.

Brown, Jan, chief flight attendant. Personal, September 7 and 28, and December 10; February 27, 2013; and pers. comm.

Brownstein, Yisroel, passenger, seat 38-J (assigned 38-H). Personal, May 17.

Cherolis, Nicholas Edward, metallurgist at General Electric (now at Rolls-Royce). Telephone, October 2; November 2 and 28; January 19, 2013; May 24 and 25, 2013; and pers. comm.

Clapper, Gregory S., chaplain, 185th. Personal, July 28, and pers. comm.

Clark, John C., investigator, NTSB. Telephone, October 17, and pers. comm.

Collins, Patricia, volunteer at the morgue. Telephone, July 30.

Conant, Martha, passenger, seat 38-D. Telephone, March 14 and June 2, and pers. comm.

Cookson, David, maintenance records at United Airlines. Telephone, March 5, 2013.

Crain, Margo (remarried as Baker), passenger, seat 19-C. Telephone, March 17 and May 20, and pers. comm.

DeJong, Marliss, volunteer in the morgue. Telephone, September 15.

Dieber, Sheryl, nurse, St. Luke’s Hospital. Telephone, June 20, 2013.

Domina, Don, alarm room operator, 185th. Telephone, December 18.

Doughty, Rob, public relations, United Airlines. Telephone, February 15, 2013.

Dvorak, Dudley, second officer. Telephone, October 16, and pers. comm.

Eck, Mary Sue, editor,
Medjugorje Magazine
. Telephone, June 6.

Eddy, Chuck, sheriff of Buena Vista County, Iowa. Telephone, February 2, 2013.

Fageol, Mark, chief photographer,
Sioux City Journal
. Telephone, October 20.

Feeney, Tony, passenger, seat 32-G. Telephone, April 14, and pers. comm.

Feyh, Jason, passenger, seat 31-F. Telephone, December 20.

Filippi, John, forensic dentist. Telephone, September 26 and 29, and pers. comm. (Filippi did not wish to be quoted, but he graciously provided information.)

Fitch, Rosa, widow of Dennis Fitch. Personal, February 27, 2013, and pers. comm.

Ford, Liz, Siouxland Paramedics. Personal, January 14, 2013.

Gochenour, Sam, FAA technician. Personal, July 16, and pers. comm.

Griffin, Brad, passenger, seat 2-E. Telephone, April 12 and July 13, and pers. comm.

Hardman, Terri, passenger, seat 18-G. Telephone, July 3.

Harrington, Lawrence, lieutenant colonel, 185th (now colonel, retired). Telephone, June 18; personal, July 18; and pers. comm.

Hartter, Lynn, volunteer rescuer, 185th. Telephone, February 22, 2013.

Hatch, John, passenger, seat 38-C. Telephone, August 3.

Haynes, Alfred Clair, captain. Telephone, October 3; January 29, 2013; and pers. comm.

Henry, Jason, volunteer in the morgue. Telephone, August 2, and pers. comm.

Herbek, Gene, Acting Woodbury County medical examiner. Telephone, February 6, 2013.

Hilldrup, Frank, chairman, Structures Group, NTSB. Telephone, October 5.

Hjermstad, Julie (remarried as McCallister), mother of Eric, eleven, and Alissa, eight, passengers in row 18. Telephone, September 4.

Hutton, David, assistant fire chief, 185th. Telephone, December 18.

Kraemer, John C., director of Forensic Operations, Iowa Department of Public Safety. Telephone, November 5, and pers. comm.

Lindblade, George, videographer. Personal, July 17; January 14–15, 2013; telephone, December 14; and pers. comm.

Logemann, Jerry, fire fighter, 185th. Telephone, December 5.

Lopatkiewicz, Ted, public affairs officer, NTSB. Telephone, June 28, and pers. comm.

MacIntosh, Robert M., Jr., investigator in charge, NTSB. Telephone, July 12, and pers. comm.

Marshall, Clifton, passenger, seat 19-G. Telephone, March 16, and pers. comm.

Martz, Charles R., passenger, seat 27-J. Telephone, March 20, and pers. comm.

McCann, Pat, Lieutenant, Sioux City Police Department. Personal, January 15, 2013.

McDowell, Pamela, sister of Cynthia Muncey, passenger, seat 29-A. Telephone, September 27 and December 13, and pers. comm.

McGrady, Donna, flight attendant. Telephone, September 20.

McKelvey, Debbie, passenger, seat 11-H. Telephone, April 1, 2013.

Melhaff, Arthur, foreman of Nondestructive Testing, United Airlines. Telephone, February 13, 2013.

Milford, David, passenger, seat 37-A. Telephone, September 21.

Milford, Kari, passenger, seat 37-D. Telephone, September 21.

Mleynek, Dale, air traffic controller. Telephone, August 3, and pers. comm.

Mobley, Amy (married as Reynolds), passenger, seat 13-J. Telephone, May 7.

Mobley, Rusty, passenger, seat 13-H. Telephone, March 23.

Murray, Virginia Jane “Jan,” flight attendant. Telephone, September 6.

Muto, Aki, passenger, seat 20-D. E-mail, May 6, and pers. comm.

Niehus, Larry, fire fighter, 185th. Telephone, March 12, 2013.

Nielsen, Dennis, supervisor of flying, 185th. Telephone, February 19, 2013.

Norton, Tim, FAA technician. Telephone, June 21, July 3; personal, July 16; and pers. comm.

Olivier, Paul, passenger, seat 33-B. Telephone, February 12, 2013.

Osenberg, Bruce, passenger, seat 21-C. Telephone, March 9.

Osenberg, Dina (married as Corrado), passenger, seat 21-D. Telephone, March 20.

Osenberg, Ruth Anne, passenger, seat 21-E. Telephone, March 9, and pers. comm.

Owens, Tim, flight attendant. Telephone, November 14, and pers. comm.

Palmer, Ward, triage officer, Siouxland Health Services. Telephone, February 22, 2013.