As our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of the MH17 tragedy, we should indeed all be grateful for the exceptional airmanship of United Captains Alfred C. Haynes and Dennis C. Fitch (who was a United DC10 training captain who happened to be on board as a passenger).

Even though the plane had lost all controls as a result of the rupture of its hydraulic lines, Captains Haynes and Fitch and the rest of the flight crew were able to bring the aircraft to the runway at Sioux City using only the throttle controls of the two remaining engines.

In the end, 185 of the 296 persons on board survived the accident. Although there were 111 casualties, the feat of landing an aircraft of this size without any flight controls (except the throttle) was truly remarkable.

Captain Fitch passed away in 2012 after a battle with cancer.