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A Survivor Of Crashed Flight From Denver Remembers Hero Pilot

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9min 13sec
John Gaps III/AP Photo
<p>Cranes hold the tail section of the United Airlines DC-10 upright Sunday, July 23, 1989, four days after it crash landed at the Sioux City Airport in Iowa, killing 112 people.</p>

When you board a flight, how often do you even think about who's flying the plane, let alone build a lifelong relationship with them? Thirty years ago, a bond was formed between the passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 232, which left Denver's Stapleton Airport, bound for Chicago, but instead crashed in Sioux City, Iowa, killing 112 people. 

There were 184 survivors, many of whom credited the work of Al Haynes, who was piloting the plane. Haynes, who worked for United for 35 years, passed away earlier this week. Colorado Matters spoke with Jerry Schemmel, an announcer for the Colorado Rockies on KOA Radio who was a passenger on Flight 232.