Former reporter recalls shooting crash of United Flight 232

SIOUX CITY | Dave Boxum returned from his honeymoon in time to shoot some of the world's most famous footage that summer, July 1989.

Boxum, then 23, was a news reporter for KTIV Channel 4 in Sioux City on July 19, 1989, the day United Flight 232 crash-landed at Sioux Gateway Airport. While the crash ultimately killed 112 people, 184 passengers and flight crew members miraculously survived.

Boxum captured the landing on tape, the likes of which was an extreme rarity a quarter-century ago.

Boxum reflected on his role in preserving a link to the crash and the heroics of Captain Al Haynes, who nearly pulled off the impossible in landing a DC-10 jumbo jet that lost all hydraulic power following an explosion some 33,000 feet over Alta, Iowa, just 41 minutes before the plane touched down.

Workers and volunteers in and around Sioux City work this spring on an exhibit detailing the crash, one that put Sioux City and its terrific response in the media spotlight. Mid America Museum of Aviation and Transportation will have the exhibit and a memorial garden in place by the weekend of July 18-20, when events commemorating the 25th anniversary of the crash will take place.

"There has not been a week that this museum hasn't had someone come in and ask about United Flight 232," said Larry Finley, the museum's executive director.

Pam Mickelson, a member of the museum's board of directors, said the exhibit will honor all those involved in the crash, the rescue efforts that day and in the days that followed. The garden, designed as a place for visitors and people connected to the crash, will offer an area of reflection. The garden is to arise close to where United 232 touched down on old Runway 22.

"I think we as a community felt we wanted the 25th (anniversary) to be great," said Mickelson, who chairs the Committee for Flight 232. "It's probably the last time we could have some of the players there."

"It's been 25 years, which is kind of hard to believe," added Jim Wharton, a committee member. "But this gives the city and all of Siouxland the opportunity one last time to take a look, once again, at how good things can happen when you have such a tragic event strike Sioux City."

Perhaps few are connected more to the precise time tragedy struck than former news reporter Dave Boxum. The 1987 Dordt College graduate had worked full-time at KTIV, Sioux City's NBC affiliate, for less than a year.

"I remember that week coming back from our honeymoon," said Boxum, who now resides with his wife, Peggy Boxum, and their two daughters, Autumn, and Anna, in Eden Prairie, Minn. He and Peggy wed on July 1, 1989. They returned to Sioux City that month following a honeymoon trip to Oregon.

"The memory of that day stays with you forever," Dave Boxum said. "It was a muggy day and I was waiting to go out to the airport as a murder suspect was being flown back to Sioux City and I was going to cover it."

Shortly before he was to leave for Sioux Gateway Airport, a call rang out on the police scanner: An airliner over Northwest Iowa was in trouble.

"Jon Beringer, my assignment editor, told me to go out to the airport just in case," Boxum said.

Boxum carried a two-way radio as cell phones weren't prevalent in those days. Beringer advised his reporter to set up his camera on the north side of the airport, near the tarmac.

Shortly before 4 p.m., Beringer advised the plane would be coming in from the north.

"I saw it come in low, very low, but level," Boxum said. "Then it disappeared behind some airport hangar buildings for what seemed like a long time, I couldn't see it."

The seconds of Boxum's obstructed view dragged on until the plane reappeared. Boxum kept shooting as the plane skidded, crashed and exploded into a fireball followed by a wall or a column of thick, black smoke.

Boxum shot the video through the chain link fence, catching in the foreground a sign that reads, "Restricted area. Do not go beyond this point." He recalled that NBC News' David Hager mentioned the sign, noting how it helped set the stage for the horror in the background as 112 passengers lost their lives where the runway met rows of Iowa corn.

"Jon Beringer was telling me to shoot like I was shooting for the network," Boxum added. "He said to stay with the shot and not attempt anything fancy."

Boxum doubted himself as the scene unfolded. "Did I white-balance the camera?" he asked. If he hadn't, the shot would have a blue or an orange tint.

He had done his white-balancing. The video was picked up from Boxum moments after the crash and rushed back to KTIV. Soon, it was edited and distributed to dozens of news organizations.

The crash of Flight 232 wasn't unique because it happened here. It was unique as 400 Siouxland rescue agencies had up to 40 minutes advance notice with which they could mobilize. Additionally, it crashed at an airport that was (and is, still) the site of a military base, home to 285 trained members of the Iowa Army Air National Guard.

Finally, it was also one of the few at the time -- if any -- captured on video.

Boxum stayed at Sioux Gateway Airport into the night, collecting images and interviews for a story on the 10 o'clock news. He then reversed roles, as anchor Dave Nixon interviewed him to detail his role in getting video of the disabled jet crashing in a fireball.

Boxum did interviews with news stations and organizations in the days that followed. A crew from Japan asked for his story, as did reporters in Los Angeles, Chicago and Minneapolis.

Boxum interviewed survivors on July 20 at Briar Cliff University. On July 21, he filed a story as volunteers and those with the Federal Aviation Administration combed fields of corn and soybeans near Alta, Iowa, in their search for parts that broke apart from the plane in the explosion.

"I thought about the crash every day for one year," Boxum said. "I dreaded the one-year anniversary because I didn't want to go through it again."

The one-year anniversary, it turned out, was a good thing, he said, a time of healing and unity for survivors, first responders and even people like Boxum.

"It's amazing how well the community was trained and came together and how, though you'd never want this to happen, the fact it happened where it did probably saved lives," Boxum said.

Boxum would remain on the staff at KTIV for three years. He then joined the United Way of Siouxland and worked in public relations for four years. Eventually, he found his way to Gateway Computers and then to a public relations firm in the Twin Cities, where he and Peggy and their daughters have resided for 13 years.

Boxum said he hopes to return to Sioux City this summer for events honoring those associated with Flight 232.

Remembering Flight 232

This summer marks the 25th anniversary of the crash landing and heroic response to United Flight 232 in Sioux City. On July 19, 1989, a DC-10 carrying 296 passengers and crew flying from Denver to Chicago made an emergency landing at Sioux Gateway Airport. More than 400 agencies from Sioux City and Siouxland joined forces in a response effort that galvanized the community, saved lives and led to an outpouring of support for passengers and families of victims.

To signify the importance of Flight 232 in Sioux City's history, a civic committee plans events to honor those involved. Survivors, responders, and family members will attend, as well as Capt. Al Haynes, and members of the crew who helped him land the disabled aircraft.

The anniversary weekend on July 18-20 includes a reflection/dedication ceremony and tours of locations involved with the crash and recovery. "This remembrance was a request from Capt. Haynes and the flight crew as they wanted to share their appreciation for the community's response and also bring closure to that chapter of their lives," said Sioux City Mayor Bob Scott.

For information on events, see www.sioux-city.org or call 712-279-6102.

Story and photo gallery:   http://siouxcityjournal.com

 NTSB Identification: DCA89MA063.
The docket is stored on NTSB microfiche number 39915.
Scheduled 14 CFR operation of UNITED AIRLINES
Accident occurred Wednesday, July 19, 1989 in SIOUX CITY, IA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 10/08/1992
Aircraft: MCDONNELL DOUGLAS DC-10-10, registration: N1819U
Injuries: 111 Fatal,47 Serious,125 Minor,13 Uninjured.

NTSB investigators traveled in support of this investigation and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

The Safety Board's full report on this investigation is provided as Aviation Accident Report number AAR-90/06. To obtain a copy of this report, or to view the executive summary online, please see the Web site at http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/publictn.htm


UNITED AIRLINE FLT 232 WAS CRUISING AT FL 370, WHEN THERE WAS A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OF THE # 2 (TAIL MOUNTED) ENG. THIS WAS DUE TO SEPN, FRAGMENTATION & FORCEFUL DISCHARGE OF THE STAGE 1 FAN ROTOR ASSEMBLY PARTS FM THE #2 ENG (UNCONTAINED FAILURE), WHICH LED TO LOSS OF THE 3 HYD SYSTEMS THAT POWERED THE FLT CTLS. THE FLIGHTCREW EXPERIENCED SEVERE DIFFICULTIES CTLG THE ACFT, WHICH SUBSEQUENTLY CRASHED DRG AN EMERG LNDG AT SIOUX CITY. AN INV REVEALED EVIDENCE CONCERNING LIMITATIONS IN INSPN & QUALITY CTL PROC USED DRG ENG OVERHAUL, WHICH RESULTED IN A FAILURE TO DETECT A FATIGUE CRACK, ORIGINATING FM A PREVIOUSLY UNDETECTED METALLURGICAL DEFECT IN A CRITICAL AREA OF THE STATE 1 FAN DISK. (SEE: NTSB/AAR-90/06)

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
THE INADEQUATE CONSIDERATION GIVEN TO HUMAN FACTORS LIMITATIONS IN THE INSPECTION AND QUALITY CONTROL PROCEDURES USED BY UNITED AIRLINES' ENGINE OVERHAUL FACILITY WHICH RESULTED IN THE FAILURE TO DETECT A FATIGUE CRACK ORIGINATING FROM A PREVIOUSLY UNDECTECTED METALLURGICAL DEFECT LOCATED IN A CRITICAL AREA OF THE STAGE 1 FAN DISK THAT WAS MANUFACTURED BY GENERAL ELECTRIC AIRCRAFT ENGINES. THE SUBSEQUENT CATASTROPHIC DISINTEGRATION OF THE DISK RESULTED IN THE LIBERATION OF DEBRIS IN A PATTERN OF DISTRIBUTION AND WITH ENERGY LEVELS THAT EXCEEDED THE LEVEL OF PROTECTION PROVIDED BY DESIGN FEATURES OF THE HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS THAT OPERATED THE DC-10'S FLIGHT CONTROLS.