What was the name of the 1989 US market plunge triggered by a failed United Airlines buyout?

The 1989 US market plunge triggered by a failed United Airlines buyout was called the Friday the 13th mini-crash.

On Friday, 13 October 1989, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 190.58 points, then the largest one-day point decline recorded by the index. The immediate catalyst was news that a leveraged buyout of United Airlines had collapsed, but broader concerns about debt-financed acquisitions and market valuations also weighed on investors.

The event occurred during a period when corporate takeovers were commonly financed with large amounts of borrowed money. When the United Airlines transaction failed, investors reassessed the risks surrounding that market and sold shares, especially in companies connected to acquisition activity.

It is sometimes confused with Black Monday in October 1987 or with the 1929 crash’s Black Thursday. The 1989 episode was smaller and shorter, so contemporary accounts often used the more limited label “mini-crash.”