On July 19, 1989, Haynes was the Captain of United Airlines Flight 232, piloting a DC-10, a large trijet airliner, carrying 296 passengers and crew. However, in 1985, he did accept a promotion to Captain, because he would be approaching retirement soon, and his retirement pay would be based on his pay during his last five years.

For most of his career with United Airlines he served as a flight engineer or co-pilot, refusing offers of promotion, because they would have required relocating from Seattle. In 1956, Haynes joined United Airlines after his wartime service.

He spent four years in the Marine Corps, serving as a pilot. Haynes lost his draft deferment while taking a semester off from Texas A&M, while the United States was engaged in the Korean War, and decided to join the U.S.

He served until 1956 and then joined United Airlines, which was his employer for the next 35 years. He became a first lieutenant and was an instructor pilot. Haynes graduated from Texas A&M College (now Texas A&M University) prior to joining the United States Marine Corps. By 1940, the family relocated to Dallas, Texas, where Haynes attended Woodrow Wilson High School. His father worked as a district manager of a telephone company and his mother was a homemaker. He was the third child to Herbert Clair Haynes (1896–1972) and Fannie Temperance Baker (1896–1991). Having recovered and returned to service as a pilot, Haynes retired from United Airlines in 1991, and subsequently became a public speaker for aviation safety.Īl Haynes was born on August 31, 1931, at the family home in Paris, Texas. He flew for United Airlines, and in 1989, came to international attention as the captain of United Airlines Flight 232, which crashed in Sioux City, Iowa, after suffering a total loss of controls. Alfred Clair Haynes (Aug– August 25, 2019) was an American airline pilot.

United 232 sioux city airport crew