United Airlines Flight 173

United Airlines Flight 173
	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
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
Passengers	189
Crew	8
Fatalities	10 (2 crew, 8 passengers)
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.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

^ 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.