Civil Aviation Urban Legends

[Lance]

Due to a purchase of a auto dealership I have moved to small Oregon town of Grants Pass. The locals and employees have told me that a large airliner landed in Coos Bay and the runway was not long enough for the jet to fly from the Coos Bay, Oregon airport. They also say that the airplane was taken apart and trucked to Medford and put back together and flown out that larger airport.

Here is the problem. 50% of the time the airplane was a United DC-8 and it happened in the 1960s. The other half of the time it was in the 1970s with a Northwest DC-10!

I thought I would post it here to get your ideas. I (for one) think this a urban legend. However the last time I tried to prove a Oregon urban legend wrong, I was dead wrong.
The urban legend (http://www.perp.com/whale/) that left egg on my face.

[aerpix]

Without questionning the egg in your face laff.gif I doubt that this is really true. Commercial aviation has been my favourite topic since the early seventies, and I can not remember having ever heard such a story.

So I'd opt for an urban legend. Do not throw with eggs at me, though laff.gif .

Regards,
Peter

[Lance]

I did not think it was true, but people sure do talk about it like it was. However the other urban legend (http://www.hackstadt.com/features/whale/) was more absurd in my opinion. Thank You for posting.

http://www.ual.com/images/fleet_photos/past_fleet/dc8.jpg

<FONT COLOR="black" SIZE="1">[ December 23, 2002 05:34 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Lance ]</font>

[Robert]

I had heard about the whale thing, which is true.

About the plane crash, it is NOT true in the way you heard it.

However there was a crash on December 28, 1978 at
PORTLAND, OR. Aircraft: DOUGLAS DC-8, registration: N8082U
the plane ran out of fuel and crashed/ditched into a field killing 10.

Its possible that it what they are talking about however the plane was destroyed and not flown out.

[Lance]

Thanks Robert, but this "tale" is another "thing" all together. The Dec. 28, 1978 UAL accident in Portland is to true for me. I was six years old and coming home (Seattle, WA) from grandfolks home (St. Peterburg, FL) and coming home at the time. That day I traveled from TPA-ORD on a 727 then from ORD-DEN on another 727, then DEN-PDX on that DC-8-63! Being six, all I remember was being escorted to a hotel room and my folks picked me up from there. I can say that I got back to Seattle in a Concord! Well, okay the earth-bound American Motors Concord, but a least it was a brand new Concord! sleep.gif

http://www.airsafetyonline.com/images/galleries/ua173/1.jpg
United flight #173 12-28-78

http://www.mederle.de/amc/amcpics/cncdl79.jpg
The 1979 American Motors Concord

<FONT COLOR="black" SIZE="1">[ December 23, 2002 10:28 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Lance ]</font>