Introduction
It was December 28, 1978 and the flight was scheduled from John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York to Portland International Airport, Portland. The aircraft involved in the accident was McDonnell-Douglas DC-8-61. It was carrying 189 people on board out of which 8 were crew and all other were passengers. 10 people were killed in this accident.
The investigation revealed that while lowering the landing gear there was a loud thump which was heard. It was revealed that the corrosion had failed the right main landing gear of the aircraft. however the landing gear was down. The free fall of the landing gear damaged the micro switch which sends the green light in the cockpit. This made the pilot to abort the landing in order to diagnose the problem.
The whole crew in the cockpit was so busy in diagnosing the issue with the landing gear that they forgot to monitor the fuel indicators and to calculate the time they can fly safely. This made the aircraft crash landed in suburban Portland neighborhood.
After this accident the whole aviation industry made the major changes in the crew training programs.
