October 13, 1989, marked the U.S. stock-market crash commonly called the “Friday the 13th mini-crash.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 190.58 points, or about 6.9 percent, during that Friday session. The decline was linked partly to the collapse of a proposed leveraged buyout of United Airlines’ parent company, which had raised concerns about junk bonds and highly leveraged corporate deals.
The fall was severe but much smaller than the October 1987 crash. It also did not produce the same worldwide market breakdown. The event’s nickname comes from its calendar date rather than from a formal exchange designation.
The episode illustrated how dependence on debt financing could transmit stress from one corporate transaction into broader markets. It is sometimes overlooked because the 1987 crash and the 1990s technology boom dominate popular accounts of late-20th-century market history.