ST. CHARLES – The airline pilot and flight instructor credited with saving 184 lives in 1989 during a fiery crash in western Iowa has died.
Dennis “Denny” Fitch, 69, of St. Charles died Sunday after battling brain cancer, his wife, Rosa, said.
“It is with the saddest heart that I tell you that my sweet Denny lost his battle with brain cancer [Sunday] night,” Rosa Fitch wrote in a post Monday attributed to her on a blog, which had been created after he was diagnosed with cancer. “He put up the most courageous fight.
“We are so proud of the man who was a great husband, father, papa, friend and aviator.”
According to Yurs Funeral Home, a visitation for Fitch is scheduled from noon to 8 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home, 405 E. Main St., St. Charles. A funeral service is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Monday at Resurrection Catholic Community, 30W350 Army Trail Road, Wayne.
Fitch was thrust into the public eye in July 1989 when he – as a passenger aboard United Airlines Flight 232 – helped the flight crew crash-land a disabled DC-10 airliner near Sioux City, Iowa.
According to published accounts, the plane lost its hydraulic flight control systems, leaving the plane virtually uncontrollable at an altitude of 7 miles.
The plane remained in the air for about 45 minutes because of the efforts of Fitch and the flight crew.
Although 111 people died in the crash, 174 passengers and 10 crew members survived.
Fitch was recognized by President George H.W. Bush and the U.S. Senate for his heroism in saving so many lives amid the circumstances.
According to a biography of Fitch, posted on the website of The Aviation Speakers Bureau, he and the crew of United Flight 232 hold the record for the longest time aloft in an aircraft without flight controls “who lived to tell about it.”
Fitch later founded an aviation consulting firm, became a motivational speaker and served as a safety consultant with NASA.
He was inducted into the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
In early 2010, Fitch was diagnosed with brain cancer. To help friends and family follow his fight against the disease, he and his wife created a blog called Denny’s Journey.
“Everyone who ever met him, or listened to him speak, went away feeling inspired and was a better person for having met him,” Rosa Fitch wrote Monday.