Douglas DC-8

On approach to Mexico City-Benito Juarez Airport, the crew was cleared to descend from 11,000 to 9,000 feet when the aircraft struck tree tops and crashed on the slope of Mt Lilio located about 24 km from the airport. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all eight occupants were killed. At the time of the accident, the mountain was shrouded by clouds. For unknown reasons, the crew was approaching the airport at a too low altitude.

The approach to runway 15L was unstable. At an excessive speed of 150 knots, the four engine airplane landed about 800-900 meters down the runway 15L, on a wet surface. The crew failed to use all available braking systems and unable to stop within the remaining distance, the airplane overran at a speed of 40 knots, went through a perimeter fence and descended a ravine before coming to rest in flames. 20 passengers were injured while 120 other occupants escaped uninjured. Unfortunately, 14 passengers were killed. The aircraft was totally destroyed by a post crash fire.

United Airlines Flight 173, departed New York-JFK on a scheduled flight to Portland International Airport (PDX), with an en route stop at Denver (DEN). The DC-8-61 took off from Denver about 14:47. The planned time en route was 2 hrs 26 min. The planned arrival time at Portland was 17:13. There was 46,700 lb of fuel on board the aircraft when it departed the gate at Denver. This fuel included the Federal Aviation Regulation requirement for fuel to destination plus 45 min and the company contingency fuel of about 20 min. At 17:05, Flight 173 called Portland Approach and advised that its altitude was 10,000 ft and its airspeed was being reduced. Portland responded and told the flight to maintain its heading for a visual approach to runway 28. Flight 173 acknowledged the approach instructions and stated, "...we have the field in sight." At 17:07, Portland Approach instructed the flight to descend and maintain 8,000 ft. Flight 173 acknowledged the instructions and advised that it was "leaving ten." At 17:09, Flight 173 received and acknowledged a clearance to continue its descent to 6,000 ft. When the DC-8 was descending through about 8,000 ft, the first officer, who was flying the aircraft, requested the wing flaps be extended to 15 degrees, then asked that the landing gear be lowered. As the landing gear extended, an unusual sound was heard and the aircraft yawed. At 17:12, Portland Approach requested, "United one seven three heavy, contact the tower, one one eight point seven." The flight responded, "negative, we'll stay with you. We'll stay at five. We'll maintain about a hundred and seventy knots. We got a gear problem. We'll let you know." Portland Approach replied, "United one seventy-three heavy roger, maintain five thousand. Turn left heading two zero zero." The flight acknowledged the instructions. At 17:14, Portland Approach advised, "United one seventy three heavy, turn left heading, one zero zero and I'll just orbit you out there 'til you get your problem." Flight 173 acknowledged the instructions. For the next 23 min, while Portland Approach was vectoring the aircraft in a holding pattern south and east of the airport, the flight crew discussed and accomplished all of the emergency and precautionary actions available to them to assure themselves that all landing gear was locked in the full down position. The second officer checked the visual indicators on top of both wings, which extend above the wing surface when the landing gear is down-and-locked. About 17:38, Flight 173 contacted the United Airlines Systems Line Maintenance Control Center in San Francisco. The captain explained to company dispatch and maintenance personnel the landing gear problem and what the flight crew had done to assure that the landing gear was fully extended. He said they were planning to land in about twenty minutes. About 17:44, the captain and the first flight attendant discussed passenger preparation, crash landing procedures, and evacuation procedures. At 17:46, the first officer asked the flight engineer, "How much fuel we got...?" The flight engineer responded, "Five thousand." About 17:50, the captain asked the flight engineer to "Give us a current card on weight. Figure about another fifteen minutes." The first officer responded, "Fifteen minutes?" To which the captain replied, "Yeah, give us three or four thousand pounds on top of zero fuel weight." The flight engineer then said, "Not enough. Fifteen minutes is gonna really run us low on fuel here." Some calculations were made and at 17:52 the flight engineer talked to Portland and discussed the aircraft's fuel state, the number of persons on board the aircraft, and the emergency landing precautions at the airport. A fuel check at 17:57 learned that there were 1,000 lb in each tank, totalling 4,000 lb of fuel. From 17:57 until 18:00, the captain and the first officer engaged in a conversation which included discussions of giving the flight attendants ample time to prepare for the emergency, cockpit procedures in the event of an evacuation after landing, whether the brakes would have antiskid protection after landing, and the procedures the captain would be using during the approach and landing. At 18:01, the flight engineer reported that the cabin would be ready in "another two or three minutes." At 18:02, the flight engineer advised, "We got about three on the fuel and that's it." The aircraft was then about 5 nmi south of the airport on a southwest heading. Portland Approach then asked Flight 173 for a status report. The first officer replied, "Yeah, we have indication our gear is abnormal. It'll be our intention, in about five minutes, to land on two eight left. We would like the equipment standing by. Our indications are the gear is down and locked. We've got our people prepared for an evacuation in the event that should become necessary." At 18:03 Portland Approach asked that Flight 173 advise them when the approach would begin. The captain responded, "...They've about finished in the cabin. I'd guess about another three, four, five minutes." At this time the aircraft was about 8 nmi south of the airport on a southwesterly heading. At 18:06, the first flight attendant entered the cockpit and reported that they were ready in the passenger cabin. At this time the aircraft was about 17 nmi south of the airport on a southwesterly heading. The captain then said, "Okay. We're going to go in now. We should be landing in about five minutes." Almost simultaneous with this comment, the first officer said, "I think you just lost number four ..." followed immediately by advice to the flight engineer, "... better get some crossfeeds open there or something." At 18:06:46, the first officer told the captain, "We're going to lose an engine..." At 18:06:49, the first officer again stated, "We're losing an engine." Again the captain asked, "Why?" The first officer responded, "Fuel." The captain replied, "Why?" Between 18:06:52 and 18:07:06, the CVR revealed conflicting and confusing conversation between flight crewmembers as to the aircraft's fuel state. At 18:07:06, the first officer said, "It's flamed out." At 18:07:12, the captain called Portland Approach and requested, "...would like clearance for an approach into two eight left, now." The aircraft was about 19 nmi south southwest of the airport and turning left. This was the first request for an approach clearance from Flight 173 since the landing gear problem began. Portland Approach immediately gave the flight vectors for a visual approach to runway 28L. The flight turned toward the vector heading of 010 degrees. At 18:09:21, the captain advised Portland Approach, "United, seven three is going to turn toward the airport and come on in." After confirming Flight 173's intentions, Portland Approach cleared the flight for the visual approach to runway 28L. At 18:10:17, the captain requested that the flight engineer "reset that circuit breaker momentarily. See if we get gear lights." The flight engineer complied with the request. At 18:10:47, the captain requested the flight's distance from the airport. Portland approach responded, "I'd call it eighteen flying miles." At 18:12:42, the captain made another request for distance. Portland Approach responded, "Twelve flying miles." The flight was then cleared to contact Portland tower. At 18:13:21, the flight engineer stated, "We've lost two engines, guys." At 18:13:25, he stated, "We just lost two engines - one and two." At 1813:38, the captain said, They're all going. We can't make Troutdale." The first officer said, "We can't make anything." At 18:13:46, the captain told the first officer, "Okay. Declare a mayday." At 18:13:50, the first officer called Portland International Airport tower and declared, "Portland tower, United one seventy three heavy, Mayday. We're--the engines are flaming out. We're going down. We're not going to be able to make the airport." This was the last radio transmission from Flight 173. About 18:15, the aircraft crashed into a wooded section of a populated area of suburban Portland about 6 nmi east southeast of the airport. There was no fire. The wreckage path was about 1,554 ft long and about 130 ft wide. Two crew members and eight passengers were killed, 34 other occupants were injured.

The four engine airplane was chartered by Garuda Indonesia Airways to fly back to Surabaya 249 Indonesian pilgrims who were returning home following a 'haj' in Mecca. Following an uneventful flight, the crew was cleared to descend from FL330 to FL220 then was informed that runway 04 was in use. The captain requested a runway 22 landing and was cleared for. On final approach by night, while at an altitude of 650 feet, the crew was cleared to land on runway 22, a clearance that was acknowledged by the crew. Few seconds later, the approach controller realized that the aircraft was too low and tried to contact the crew. Unfortunately, this was not possible as the crew already switched to the tower frequency. On short final, the airplane struck tree tops and crashed in a huge explosion in a coconut grove located 2,1 km short of runway 22 threshold. 79 occupants were rescued while 183 others were killed, among them eight crew members. The aircraft was totally destroyed by a post crash fire.

After touchdown on a wet runway at Santiago de Compostela Airport, the crew activated the thrust reverser systems and started the braking procedure. Unable to stop within the remaining distance, the airplane overran, lost its undercarriage and came to rest in flames in a wooded area, broken in two. All 223 occupants were evacuated, 52 of them were injured, some seriously. The aircraft was destroyed.

About 0138:28 m.s.t. on December 18, 1977, a United Airlines, Inc., DC-8F-54 cargo aircraft, operating as Flight 2860, crashed into a mountain in the Wasatch Range near Kaysville, Utah. The three flightcrew members, the only persons aboard the aircraft, were killed, and the aircraft was destroyed. Flight 2860 encountered electrical system problems during its descent and approach to the Salt Lake City Airport. The flight requested a holding clearance which was given by the approach controller and accepted by the flight crew. The flight then requested and received clearance to leave the approach control frequency for a "little minute" to communicate with company maintenance. Flight 2860 was absent from the Approach control frequency for 7 1/2 minutes. During that time, the flight entered an area near hazardous terrain. The approach controller recognized Flight 2860's predicament but was unable to contact the flight. When flight 2860 returned to approach control frequency, the controller told the flight that it was too close to terrain on its right and to make a left turn. After the controller repeated the instructions, the flight began a left turn and about 15 seconds later the controller told the flight to climb immediately to 8,000 feet. Eleven seconds later, the flight reported that it was climbing from 6,000 feet to 8,000 feet. The flight crashed into a 7,665-foot mountain near the 7,200-foot level. The aircraft was destroyed and all three crew members were killed.

While descending to Kuala Lumpur-Subang Airport on a flight from Tokyo via Hong Kong, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with limited visibility. On final approach, the captain descended below the MDA when the four engine airplane struck tree tops and crashed in a rubber plantation located about 6 km from runway 15 threshold. The aircraft broke into several pieces and 34 occupants were killed, among them eight crew members. All 45 other people were injured.

The crew was cleared to takeoff from runway 15L and started the takeoff procedure. After a course of about 1,000 meters, the airplane lifted off prematurely. It banked left, causing the left wing to struck the ground. Out of control, the airplane landed back onto the runway then went out of control. It veered off runway to the left and while contacting soft ground, all landing gear were torn off as well as all four engines. The airplane slid for about 800 meters before coming to rest. All 140 occupants were evacuated, three of them were injured. The aircraft was written off.

The four engine airplane was completing a cargo flight from Paris to Lagos with an intermediate stop in Niamey, carrying various goods on behalf of Union des Transports Aériens (UTA). On final approach by night, the crew failed to realize his altitude was too low when the airplane struck the ground 800 metres short of runway 09. Upon impact, it lost its undercarriage and slid for dozen metres before coming to rest in flames. Two crew members were killed while two others were injured.