Which 1989 event triggered a major stock-market crash in the United States after a leveraged buyout failed?

The failed United Airlines buyout triggered a major U.S. stock-market crash in October 1989.

A group led by administrator Alfred Checchi and financier Jay Pritzker proposed a highly leveraged buyout of United Airlines. The transaction encountered financing problems and was abandoned in October 1989. The failure intensified concerns about the market for leveraged buyouts and junk bonds, which had already been weakened by problems at investment bank Drexel Burnham Lambert.

On October 13, 1989, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 190.58 points, or about 6.9%. The decline became known as the Friday the 13th mini-crash. It was a sharp event, but it did not develop into a prolonged collapse comparable to 1929 or 2008.

The episode is often connected to the late-1980s leveraged-buyout boom, when companies and investors used large amounts of borrowed money in corporate acquisitions. It should not be confused with the 1987 Black Monday crash, which was larger and had different immediate triggers.