United Airlines DC-8 Crashed Through Lack of Fuel.
Introduction
In
the early evening of 28th December 1978 a United Airlines
McDonnell Douglas DC-8 ran out of fuel and crashed into a wooded
area on its approach to Portland International Airport, Oregon,
USA.
The crew had been preoccupied handling a landing gear
malfunction and preparing for a possible emergency landing. As a
result warnings about the low fuel level were ignored and 10
people died in the resulting crash.
The BBC made a documentary programme analysing the events which occurred
on that fateful night which is available as a safety training
DVD called "The
Wrong Stuff".
Background
United
Airlines flight 173 was a scheduled service from New York to
Portland. On the day of the crash the first leg of the
journey, from New York's JFK Airport to Denver Stapleton
International Airport, was uneventful.
Because the aircraft later ran out of fuel it is significant to
note that on departure from Denver the aircraft carried
46,700lbs of aviation fuel. This was enough for the flight to
Portland, plus the additional regulation fuel to allow 45 minutes
extra flying time and United Airline's own emergency allowance of fuel for
a further 20 minutes.
Problems
with the Landing Gear
After
an uneventful flight from Denver, flight 173 was on its final
approach to Portland International Airport and radioed that the
runway was in sight.
The first officer was at the controls during the descent. He
ordered the wing flaps to be extended, which is necessary in
order to maintain flight at the lower speed used during the
final approach. He also ordered the landing gear to be deployed.
From that moment the flight ceased to be routine, with
disastrous results.
As the landing gear lowered there was an unusual sound and the
aircraft pulled slightly to one side. For a little over twenty
minutes the aircraft followed a holding pattern while the crew
went through the relevant emergency and precautionary action
lists. They then contacted United Airlines Systems Line
Maintenance Control Centre to inform them of the problem, advise
them of the actions taken and seek their advice.
Approaching
the Airport
The
crew discussed their crash landing procedure, how to prepare the
passengers for a crash landing and passenger evacuation..
The first officer asked for a fuel
reading. The captain asked if there was enough fuel for a
further 15 minutes of flight and was told there was not. It
appears that during the emergency situation the flight engineer
had failed to ensure the crew were adequately warned of the
critically low fuel level. Similarly the other crew members were
distracted by the emergency and failed to ask for fuel
information until it was already too late to save the
aircraft.
At this time the plane was near the airport but moving away
from it. The crew advised Portland Control that they were now
about to make their emergency landing. Almost immediately one of
the engines lost power.
Portland control advised flight 173 they were about 18 miles
from the runway. Soon afterwards the other engine flamed out and
the crew radioed a mayday call. The crash occurred a little
under 7 miles from the airport. Tragically 10 people died.
Consequences
Some procedures were modified to ensure regular fuel readouts
while planes are in a holding pattern.
The airline industry modified flight crew training to improve
awareness of the need for flight crew to operate together as a
fully functioning team, in contrast to previously where some pilots
operated in an autocratic way.
Safety
Training
Material
The BBC's
"The Wrong Stuff" DVD about the events which caused
the crash of flight 173 can be found here.
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