Pilot onboard United Flight 232 loses battle with cancer

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By Kristie VerMulm, Evening Anchor - bio | email

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KTIV) -

One of the pilots credited with getting United Airlines Flight 232 to Sioux City has died of cancer.

On July 19th, 1989, Denny Fitch was a United Airlines pilot flying as a passenger aboard Flight 232 when the tail engine exploded, cutting all three of the plane's hydraulic lines.

Fitch grabbed the throttles and helped pilot Al Haynes steer the crippled plane to Sioux Gateway airport.

Though the plane crashed, the crew was credited with getting the plane to a city, and an airport.

184 of the 296 people on board survived.

Fitch learned he had brain cancer in 2010.

His wife, Rosa, says Fitch died Sunday night.

Fitch's funeral is on Sunday in Saint Charles, Illinois

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Pilot onboard United Flight 232 loses battle with cancer - KTIV News 4 Sioux City IA: News, Weather and Sports

Pilot onboard United Flight 232 loses battle with cancer

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