Which 1989 market crash was triggered by the collapse of leveraged investment in United Airlines?

The 1989 market crash triggered by the collapse of leveraged investment in United Airlines was called the Friday the 13th mini-crash.

On Friday, October 13, 1989, a proposed leveraged buyout of United Airlines collapsed. The deal had been expected to be financed partly through junk bonds, and its failure damaged confidence in highly leveraged transactions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 190.58 points, or about 6.9 percent, in one trading session.

The decline was severe but brief compared with the 1987 global crash. The event exposed investor concerns about junk-bond financing and corporate takeovers, especially after several years of aggressive leveraged-buyout activity. It also highlighted how a single failed transaction could affect broader market sentiment.

The date led newspapers and market commentators to use the nickname “Friday the 13th mini-crash.” It is distinct from Black Monday in October 1987, which involved a much larger one-day percentage loss in U.S. equities.