Holy S*!t!!!!!

That is only the second-scariest event in the history of United Airlines Flight 173.


Thank the lord you didn't end up like the passengers in 1978.
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Date: December 28, 1978
Type: DC-8-61
Registration: N8082U
Operator: United Airlines, Inc.
Where: Portland, Oregon
Report No. NTSB-AAR-79-7
Report Date: June 7, 1979
Pages: 62

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 determined 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.

http://www.airdisasters.co.uk/281278.txt
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My parents were survivors of that crash.

[This message has been edited by whlinder (edited 11-13-2001).]