United Flight 232: Sioux City's response to an air disaster

Abstract

A study of the Sioux City, Iowa, response to the crash of Flight 232 was under taken from July 30 to November 28, 1989. The goal of this research project was to identify those characteristics of the planning effort which contributed to Sioux City's successful response to a major airline disaster, and to draw fu ture policy implications. Among the findings, it was discovered that multi- agency planning was utilized; that the emergency committee served not only a planning function, but also allowed agency heads and planning personnel to become personally acquainted, which led to personal bonds conducive to co ordinated efforts; that fortuitous circumstances must be considered and prop erly administered; and that the county-wide planning effort followed the four basic characteristics of good emergency planning.