Steve Dunn’s full interview with Aimee Conner who survived the crash of United Flight 173

Forty-five years ago, Lynn Egli was on a plane to Portland, United Flight 173, but he would never reach the airport.

On that fateful day, Dec. 28, 1978, the commercial jetliner slammed into a Portland neighborhood where a memorial stands today.

Ten people died and 60 were injured.

“I was coming from Wichita. I worked at the Heston College,” Egli said during a recent interview, recounting the terror of that day.

He started in Kansas and connected through Denver, boarding United Flight 173. He was bound for Portland and excited to meet his girlfriend’s family and attend a wedding.

The flight was full. All had gone well, and for the crew, Portland airport was in sight. But things took a turn.

“Well, actually, first of all, we felt the plane kinda shake, and then they leveled off,” said Egli. “And they came over the intercom and told us they were going to need to circle, to evaluate something.

Egli said a bit later, a crew member came back with a flashlight and shined it out the window.

“They told us there was a problem with the landing gear, and that they were going to prepare on the ground for our arrival,” he said. “They were very careful in what they said, and that we would be circling for a while.”

Egli said he just followed instructions and waited.

“They never used alarming kinds of language of any kind, but it was clear they were preparing for some kind of emergency,” he said.

https://katu.com/news/local/were-going-down-two-survivors-recount-1978-united-flight-173-jetliner-that-crashed-into-portland-neighborhood-killing-10
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Author: KATU News
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News post in at: December 29, 2024, 3:00 am.

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