Disaster flight 232

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Movie
German title Disaster flight 232
Original title Crash Landing: The Rescue of Flight 232
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1992
length 95 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Lamont Johnson
script Harve Bennett
production Joseph Mason
Bradley Wigor
music Charles Fox
camera William Wages
cut Paul LaMastra
occupation

Disaster Flight 232 is the title of an on the air accident of United Airlines Flight 232 based US television film from the year 1992 .

action

The location of the film is Sioux City in the US state of Iowa . The action begins with a disaster exercise in a field near the airport. The local disaster committee, which has been under the direction of Gary Brown for some time , is trying to bring the city's rescue system up to scratch with these elaborate, realistically staged exercises. Breakdowns and communication problems underline the necessity, plus personal antipathies, such as B. with Jim Hathaway , the head of the airport fire department, which complicates the cooperation. However, Gary Brown does not give up and tries to unite the various institutions and bodies in order to bring together a functioning rescue service with a well-rehearsed team for the region. With diplomacy and patience, this will ultimately succeed.

Two years later, in July 1989: repeated exercises took place and, because of the increasingly worse accident scenarios, meanwhile give rise to mocking comments on local television. In Sioux City, everything points to a relaxing sunny day, as in Denver of United Airlines Flight 232 starts. Shortly after takeoff, a technical defect caused an explosion that destroyed the rudder and the hydraulic systems . With extreme difficulty, flight captain Al Haynes tries to reach the nearest major airport - Sioux City.

The flight control informs the local airport. Sioux City is immediately preparing for the emergency landing of the 296-person DC-10 . Now comes an emergency for the Disaster Committee, for which the team has been preparing for a long time, but which nobody has longed for. However, the rescue chain is now running in an exemplary manner and, trained through the numerous exercises, very routine and exemplary, and everyone is waiting with tense anxiety for the disaster to be feared. It turns out that the disaster committee's exercises, previously perceived as annoying, were not in vain. The three-state rescue network works perfectly and within a very short time everyone prepares professionally for a possible rescue operation. The Disaster Committee trusts the skills of the crew and concentrates ambulances, rescue helicopters and fire departments from various locations and states at the airfield in the shortest possible time. The hospitals are increasing their staff and preparing to admit many injured. The population also works in an exemplary manner and there are long lines to donate blood.

The inevitable happens: the aircraft reaches the airport thanks to an unbelievable flying mastery of the cockpit crew, but due to the technical problems they cannot bring the aircraft under sufficient control and it ultimately shatters. More than a hundred people are killed, but far more can be saved through the perfectly trained teamwork of the various rescue workers. The cockpit crew also survived seriously injured.

Subject

The film works through a catastrophe event from the point of view of various participants, striving for a factual, documentary style. The plot is roughly divided into four sections. First, the viewer gets an insight into the beginnings of the committee, which has to struggle with various problems of cooperation and the response in the media. In the second part the catastrophe is indicated. Both the professionalism of the aircraft crew and the rescue workers, but at the same time their emotional tension in view of the impending catastrophe, are clearly shown. The third section describes the fall and the immediately initiated rescue measures, which have to take place under extremely difficult conditions despite the simple terrain. Finally, in the fourth part, the first emotions are dealt with, but at the same time the absurdity of public curiosity is demonstrated against the tragic background. In a pathetic ending, the gratitude to the volunteers is expressed.

The film presents itself primarily as a homage to the volunteers and idealists who, through their tireless commitment, have created an exemplary rescue system that actually works when it is actually needed due to the routine that is practiced over and over again. Many lives could not have been saved without the necessary preparations. This includes the entire range of measures, from operational planning, through mobilizing the emergency services, carrying out triage and rescue, supplying and transporting them to shielding the victims from the press.

Background and miscellaneous

  • Disaster flight 232 was based on a true incident with the case of a total failure of the hydraulics in a large-capacity jet, which occurred for the second time back then - after Japan Airlines flight 123 on August 12, 1985 . The cockpit crew, consisting of the captain, co-pilot and flight engineer, as well as an additional aircraft captain who happened to be a passenger, could only control the aircraft with the help of the two engines. All the rudders and the flaps had failed. This interaction is considered a teaching example for successful crew resource management .
  • In the part, which shows the emergency landing and the accident of the machine, sequences with original recordings of the local television station of the accident were integrated.

Awards

The film won the 1992 Emmy Awards for Best Score in a TV Movie and was also nominated for Best Director and Best Music Mixing in a TV Movie.

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