United Airlines Flight #232 DC-10 July 19th, 1989 United Airlines Flight #232 is 37,000 feet over Iowa when one of its three engines explodes. The pilots shut it down but soon discover they have a much more serious problem on their hands. The plane is in a steep right bank, and the pilots are unable to restore its flight path. The DC-10 has suffered a complete failure of all hydraulic systems, and the pilots have no way to maneuver the plane other than by alternating the power to the two remaining engines. The pilots manage to fly the crippled plane to the nearest airport but, unable to configure the wings for a normal landing, they have no choice but to keep the engines at nearly full power. After a crash that claims 111 of the 296 people on board, it's up to investigators to figure out how a foolproof system failed.