Dennis E. Fitch

Who was Dennis E. Fitch?

Dennis Edward "Denny" Fitch, Sr. was an American commercial airline pilot. He was best known for his critical actions as an off-duty McDonnell Douglas DC-10 training captain who helped captain Alfred Haynes minimize loss of life on United Airlines Flight 232, when all flight controls were lost, on July 19, 1989. Fitch used differential throttle adjustment to steer the airliner to an oblique crash-landing at Sioux Gateway Airport, in Sioux City, Iowa, resulting in the survival of 185 out of 296 on board. After the crash, in which he was injured, he returned to flying duties with United Airlines.

He was commended by then-President George H. W. Bush and in Senate Resolution 174 of the 101st United States Congress, as a result of his feat.

A safety consultant to NASA as a member of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, he was also president of his own aviation consulting firm, specializing in Cockpit Resource Management and human factors, and gave motivational presentations to corporate groups and associations on teamwork, drawing on his experience on Flight 232.