December 28, 1978

United Airlines Flight 173 was a scheduled flight from John F.
Kennedy International Airport in New York City to Portland
International Airport in Portland, Oregon, with a scheduled
stop in Denver, Colorado.

On Thursday, December 28, 1978, the aircraft flying this route
ran out of fuel while troubleshooting a landing gear problem
and crashed in a suburban Portland neighborhood near NE
157th Avenue and East Burnside Street.

(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

The crash site as it looks today.

MIKE GRACIA

On its final approach to Madison, Wisconsin on December 10,
1967, the private plane carrying soul-music legend Otis Redding 
(26)crashed into the frigid waters of a small lake three miles short         
of the runway, killing seven of the eight men aboard, including
Redding. “Sittin’ On The Dock Of The Bay”, which he had been
recording, would be released in its “unfinished” form several
weeks later, with Redding’s whistled verse a seemingly
indispensable part of the now-classic record and would soon
become history’s first posthumous #1 hit and the biggest pop
hit of Redding’s career.       

On December 8, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt
delivered his "Day of Infamy" speech before a joint
session of Congress.

At 2:10 p.m. on December 5, 1945, five U.S. Navy Avenger
torpedo-bombers comprising Flight 19 took off from the
Ft. Lauderdale Naval Air Station in Florida on a routine
three-hour training mission. After having completed their
objective, Flight 19 was scheduled to take them due east
for an additional 67 miles, then turn north for 73 miles,
and back to the air station after that, totaling a distance
of 120 miles. They never returned.