On July 19, 1998, Captain Fitch was a passenger on United Airlines Flight 232. He was simply returning home after a week at his job as a pilot trainer in Denver, enjoying the ride at 37,000 feetuntil a catastrophic failure in one of the engines cut all hydraulic controls in the plane, a problem so unthinkable that there was simply no procedure for dealing with it.

Denny Fitch then volunteered his assistance to the cockpit and with Captain Al Haynes and the rest of the flight crew, guided the plane to Sioux City, Iowa under the most trying circumstances. While 112 souls perished in the terrifying crash landing, 184 people survived because of the incredible teamwork and leadership of the men in the cockpit and the control tower.