What was the name of the 1989 crash in which U.S. leveraged-buyout bonds plunged?

The 1989 crash in which U.S. leveraged-buyout bonds plunged was called the Friday the 13th mini-crash.

On Friday, 13 October 1989, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 190.58 points, or 6.91 percent. The sharp decline followed the collapse of a proposed leveraged buyout of United Airlines. Investors feared that the financing difficulties signaled broader weakness in the market for junk bonds and highly leveraged deals.

The episode became known as the Friday the 13th mini-crash because it was severe but shorter-lived than the 1987 crash. The Dow recovered much of the loss relatively quickly, and the event did not develop into a repeat of Black Monday.

The phrase “mini-crash” can cause confusion because it is not an official index classification and is sometimes used loosely for other brief market sell-offs. This event is specifically associated with 13 October 1989, the United Airlines buyout failure, and the sudden fall in leveraged-buyout financing.