NATION IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON STATE : Hero of Flight 232 Returns to Cockpit

Capt. Al Haynes, the pilot of United Airlines flight 232, returned to duty after a leave of 3 1/2 months. The man who guided the disabled DC-10 to a crash-landing near Sioux City, Iowa, last July 19 flew a United DC-10 from Seattle to San Francisco on the first leg of a three-day trip across the country. “It’s time to get back,” Haynes, 57, said. His wife, Darlene, and daughter Laurie saw him off at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Haynes’ heroic effort to control the DC-10 after its hydraulic system was knocked out helped save the lives of 184 of the 296 people aboard the ill-fated flight.