Created: 7/19/2009 7:12:16 PM 
Bayless says it seems like yesterday when he and his wife were on flight 232 from Denver to Chicago, waiting for an emergency landing.
On July 19, 1989, for about 45 minutes, 296 passengers and crew members wondered how this flight would end after a catastrophic in-flight engine failure. The engine in the tail exploded and cut all three hydraulic lines on the DC-10.
This is a failure no one could predict; the plane's manufacturer or the Federal Aviation Administration. When the plane was certified, this type of failure was rated one in a billion.
Captain Al Haynes and his crew had to find a way to control the plane with no hydraulics. When comparing it to the recent "Miracle on the Hudson" involving US Airways Flight 1549, Haynes says, "We had power and no control, they had control and no power."
The crew attempted to land the plane on a runway in Sioux City, Iowa. Brad Bayless, his wife and the other passengers were told to prepare for the impact. "The noise and the jolt were something that you can't even imagine. The noise was a noise level that I've never heard before in my life," says Bayless.
Bayless says it felt like the plane flipped 5 or 6 times, in reality it rolled once and slid upside down for about a quarter of a mile into a cornfield. When it stopped, Bayless and his wife were hanging upside down, with their seat belts holding them in place. After unbuckling they walked toward the only light they could find, which they later learned was where row 9 on the plane broke off. After climbing over cables and wires they found themselves surrounded by corn, 6 feet tall.
Brad decided to go back into the plane and help an elderly woman get out. A short time later, he followed a group of survivors up a small hill in the cornfield. It was there they were met by a member of the National Guard who thought they were bystanders. Bayless says, "He said you people can't be here, you gotta get out of here, there was a plane crash and we said, 'We know, we were on it.' He didn't think anybody survived."
In the 20 years since the crash, Bayless and his wife had two children. On the 10th anniversary of the crash they decided to tell them about that day. They showed them the wallet that was returned to Brad. It was inside his brief case in the overhead bin. It was charred by the fire. Brad says when he opens it he can still smell the crash.
Just like Capt. Haynes, the Bayless' got back on a plane a short time later. While they have had moments of 'survivors guilt,' they choose to believe there was a reason why they lived through the crash. They often think about those who died, and about the remarkable actions of the flight crew. "What happened to us was really a miracle, and not to take anything away from the Miracle on the Hudson, but this was something that you couldn't have trained for," says Bayless.
As for Captain Haynes, he retired three years after the crash. He has also suffered through great personal loss. His son died in a motorcycle accident, his wife died and his daughter had to undergo a life-saving bone marrow transplant.
He's still a sought after public speaker who teaches audiences about the importance of teamwork and preparation for any crisis. In addition, he is announcer for little league baseball and football games and enjoys spending time with his grandchildren.
He says he's learned to accept that grieving over something you can't change doesn't do any good. He has also spoken to Capt. "Sully" Sullenberger about his amazing water landing. He says, "The first thing he said to me on the phone was we're kind of a unique group."
