In July of 1989, halfway through its journey from Denver to Chicago, United Airlines Flight 232 is rocked by an explosion. Its tail engine is gone. Its entire hydraulic system has shut down. The crew is working with no flight controls, no slats, and no flaps...but there is still hope. One of the passengers on board happens to be an expert on landing DC-10s, but even he may be powerless to save the crippled plane. No commercial jetliner has ever been successfully landed without hydraulics. The team struggles against impossible odds to try to save the lives of all 296 people on board.