 N8082U, the United Airlines DC-8-61 involved, pictured in 1972 sporting the previous livery | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | December 28, 1978 |
| Summary | Fuel exhaustion due to pilot error (lack of situational awareness) and maintenance error with landing gear |
| Site | Near Portland International Airport, Portland, Oregon, United States 45°31′21″N 122°29′59″W / 45.5225°N 122.499722°W |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | McDonnell Douglas DC-8-61[1] |
| Operator | United Airlines |
| IATA flight No. | UA173 |
| ICAO flight No. | UAL173 |
| Call sign | UNITED 173 |
| Registration | N8082U |
| Flight origin | John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, New York, United States |
| Stopover | Stapleton International Airport, Denver, Colorado, United States |
| Destination | Portland International Airport, Portland, Oregon, United States |
| Occupants | 189 |
| Passengers | 181 |
| Crew | 8 |
| Fatalities | 10 |
| Injuries | 24 |
| Survivors | 179 |
Portland
Location in the United States
Portland
Location in Oregon
United Airlines Flight 173 was a scheduled flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City to Portland International Airport in Portland, Oregon, with a scheduled stop in Denver, Colorado. On December 28, 1978, the aircraft flying this route ran out of fuel while troubleshooting a landing gear problem and crashed in a suburban Portland neighborhood near NE 157th Avenue and East Burnside Street, killing 10 people on board.[2][3][4][5][6]
The accident prompted the development of crew resource management in aviation.
- ^ "United Airlines Flight 173". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation.
- ^ Baum, Bob (December 29, 1978). "10 dead in Portland jetliner crash". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. p. 1A.
- ^ "I just walked out a hole in the plane". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). UPI. December 29, 1978. p. 1.
- ^ "Doomed jet's landing gear worked". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 30, 1978. p. 1.
- ^ "Lack of fuel suspected in DC-8 crash". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. December 30, 1978. p. 1A.
- ^ "Pilot blamed for DC-8 crash near Portland". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. June 7, 1979. p. 1A.