1978 — Dec 28, United Airlines flight 173, crash (ran out of fuel), Portland, OR — 10

— 10 Aircraft Crashes Record Office (Geneva, Switzerland). Oregon.
— 10 Faith, Nicholas. Black Box: Why Air Safety Is No Accident. London: 1996, pp. 164-165.
— 10 NTSB. AAR. United Airlines, Inc. …Portland, Oregon, December 28, 1978. 1979, p. i.
— 10 OJP DOJ. Community Crisis Response Team Training Manual: 2nd Ed. (Appendix D).

Narrative Information

NTSB Abstract: “About 1815 Pacific standard time on December 28, 1978, United Airlines, Inc., Flight 173 crashed into a wooded, populated area of suburban Portland, Oregon, during an approach to the Portland International Airport. The aircraft had delayed southeast of the airport at a low altitude for about 1 hour while the flightcrew coped with a landing gear malfunction and prepared the passengers for the possibility of a landing gear failure upon landing. The plane crashed about 6 nmi southeast of the airport. The aircraft was destroyed; there was no fire. Of the 181 passengers and 8 crewmembers aboard, 8 passengers, the flight engineer, and a flight attendant were killed and 21 passengers and 2 crewmembers were injured seriously.

“The National Transportation Safety Board det4rmined that the probable cause of the accident was the failure of the captain to monitor properly the aircraft’s fuel state and to properly respond to the low fuel state and the crewmember’s advisories regarding fuel state. This resulted in fuel exhaustion to all engines. His inattention resulted from preoccupation with a landing gear malfunction and preparations for a possible landing emergency.

“Contributing to the accident was the failure of the other two flight crewmembers either to fully comprehend the criticality of the fuel state or to successfully communicate their concern to the captain.” (NTSB. Aircraft Accident Report. United Airlines, Inc. McDonnell-Douglas, DC-8-61, N8082U, Portland, Oregon, December 28, 1978 (NTSB-AAR-79-7). June 7, 1979, p. i.)

Sources

Aircraft Crashes Record Office (Geneva, Switzerland). Oregon. Accessed 3-10-2009 at: http://www.baaa-acro.com/Pays/Etats-Unis/Oregon.htm

Faith, Nicholas. Black Box: Why Air Safety Is No Accident. London: Boxtree, 1996.

National Transportation Safety Board. Aircraft Accident Report. United Airlines, Inc. McDonnell-Douglas, DC-8-61, N8082U, Portland, Oregon, December 28, 1978 (NTSB-AAR-79-7). Washington, DC: NTSB, June 7, 1979. Accessed 3-15-2020 at: https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/AAR7907.pdf

Office of Justice Programs, United States Department of Justice. Community Crisis Response Team Training Manual: Second Edition (Appendix D: Catastrophes Used as Reference Points in Training Curricula). Washington, DC: OJP, U.S. Department of Justice. Accessed at: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/publications/infores/crt/pdftxt/appendd.txt