Portland International Airport is a joint civil–military airport and the largest airport in the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, accounting for 90% of the state's passenger air travel and more than 95% of its air cargo. It is within

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

's city limits just south of the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

Multnomah County Multnomah County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the Portland metropolitan area. The state's smallest and most populous county, it ...

, by air and by highway northeast of

downtown Portland Downtown Portland is the central business district of Portland, Oregon, United States. It is on the west bank of the Willamette River in the northeastern corner of the southwest section of the city and where most of the city's high-rise buildi ...

. Portland International Airport is often referred to by its IATA airport code, PDX. The airport covers 3,000 acres (1,214 ha) of land. Portland International Airport has direct flights to cities throughout the United States and in several other countries, including Canada, Mexico, Germany, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Iceland. The airport is a hub for

Alaska Airlines Alaska Airlines is a major American airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, within the Seattle metropolitan area. It is the fifth-largest airline in North America when measured by scheduled passengers carried, as of 2024. Alaska, togethe ...

. It also has a maintenance facility for Alaska Air subsidiary

Horizon Air Horizon Air is an American regional airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, within the Seattle metropolitan area. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Alaska Air Group and it is paid by fellow group member Alaska Airlines to staff, ope ...

General aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

services are provided at PDX by

Atlantic Aviation Macquarie Infrastructure Corporation (MIC) owns, operates and invests in a diversified group of infrastructure businesses. Macquarie Infrastructure Corporation's business consists of the largest network of fixed-base operations in the United St ...

. The

Oregon Air National Guard The Oregon Air National Guard (OR ANG) is the aerial militia of the Oregon, State of Oregon, United States, United States of America. It is a reserve of the United States Air Force and along with the Oregon Army National Guard an element of the O ...

has a base on the southwest portion of the airport property grounds, and is also the host unit of the

142nd Fighter Wing The 142nd Wing is a unit of the Oregon Air National Guard and the United States Air Force, stationed at Portland Air National Guard Base, Oregon. When activated for federal service, the wing falls under control of Air Combat Command. The 123rd ...

(142 FW), which operates the

F-15 Eagle The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force (USAF) selected McDonnell Douglas's des ...

. Local transportation includes the

MAX Red Line The MAX Red Line is a light rail line serving the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon. Operated by TriMet as part of MAX Light Rail, it is an airport rail link connecting Hillsboro, Oregon, Hillsboro, Beaverton, Oregon, Beavert ...

light rail, which takes passengers between PDX and downtown Portland, as well as farther west to Beaverton. There is also

Interstate 205 Interstate 205 may refer to either of two unconnected Interstate Highways in the United States, both of which are related to Interstate 5 * Interstate 205 (California), a connector in the San Francisco Bay Area * Interstate 205 (Oregon–Washing ...

, which connects to southwestern

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

(north from PDX) along with many suburbs of Portland (south from PDX).

History

Portland's first airport was the

Swan Island Municipal Airport The Swan Island Municipal Airport was a joint civil-military airport that was operational on Swan Island in Portland, Oregon. Though it officially opened in 1927, the United States Postal Service had been using the airfield for a year. After the ...

, northwest of downtown Portland on the

Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward ...

. The Port of Portland purchased and construction began in 1926.

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, and author. On May 20–21, 1927, he made the first nonstop flight from New York (state), New York to Paris, a distance of . His aircra ...

flew in and dedicated the new airfield in 1927. By 1935 it was becoming apparent to the Port of Portland that the airport was becoming obsolete. The small airfield couldn't easily be expanded, nor could it accommodate the larger aircraft and passenger loads expected to become common to Portland. Plans immediately were conceived to relocate the outdated airfield to a larger site. The Swan Island area is now used by the Port of Portland as an industrial park.

Construction and early operations

The Portland City Council purchased the present PDX site in 1936. It was bordered by the Columbia River in the north and the

Columbia Slough The Columbia Slough is a narrow waterway, about long, in the floodplain of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Oregon. From its source in the Portland, Oregon, Portland suburb of Fairview, Oregon, Fairview, the Columbia Slough meanders west ...

in the south. The city council issued US$300,000 and asked the Port of Portland to sponsor a US$1.3 million

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

(WPA) grant to develop the site into a "super airport". The project provided badly needed

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

-era jobs. Construction of the airport steadily employed over 1,000 men, and was described by historian Neil Barker as "Portland's most significant public works improvement during the New Deal era". The WPA and Port of Portland faced difficulties in preparing the site for construction because the low-lying area was frequently covered by flood waters from the Columbia River. Workers covered the area with over of sand to help drain it of water, and constructed a series of dikes to control flooding. Two runways capable of serving the modern aircraft of the time were operational by 1941. The airport was designated "Portland–Columbia Airport" to distinguish it from then-operating Swan Island Airport. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the airfield was used by the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

. The "super airport" had a terminal on the north side, off Marine Drive, and five runways (NE-SW, NW-SE, and an E-W runway forming an

asterisk The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

). This configuration was adequate until a new terminal and a longer, east–west runway were constructed in 1952. In 1948 the entire airport grounds were flooded during the

Vanport Flood The 1948 Columbia River flood (or Vanport Flood) was a regional flood that occurred in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and Canada. Large portions of the Columbia River watershed were impacted, including the Portland area, Eastern Wash ...

, forcing scheduled airline services to reroute to nearby

Troutdale Airport Troutdale may refer to: * Troutdale, Michigan * Troutdale, Oregon ** Portland–Troutdale Airport * Troutdale, Virginia Troutdale is a town in Grayson County, Virginia, United States. The population was 140 at the 2020 census. Geography Tr ...

. The grounds were under water for several months.

New terminal (1950s)

Portland's first jets were Pan Am 707-321s about October 1959. A new terminal opened in 1959, which for the most part serves as the present facility. The new terminal is located to the east of the original runways, and north of the then-new runway. Construction of a second east–west runway to the north made this a midfield terminal. At this point, all but the NE-SW (3/21) runway in the original "X" were abandoned and turned into taxiways. 3/21 was extended for use as a cross-wind runway. "International" was added to the airport's official designation after the 1950s-era improvements. The first international nonstop was Western's 720B to

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, in 1967. Plans made in 1968 to add a third runway by means of filling in parts of the Columbia River were met with vocal public opposition and scrapped. The airport switched from screening passengers at individual gates to screening all visitors at concourse entrances in 1973 as new FAA regulations went into effect. By 1974, the airport was served by Braniff, Cascade, Continental, Eastern, Hughes Airwest, Northwest Orient, Pan Am, United and Western, and the Seattle route was served by seven airlines with aircraft as large as

Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a long-range wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023. After the introduction of the Boeing 707, 707 in October 1958, Pan Am ...

s. In 1974, the south runway was extended to to service the newest jumbo jets. The terminal building was renovated and expanded in 1977. United was the dominant carrier at PDX during the regulated era and through the 1980s.

Air Oregon Air Oregon was an airline based in the U.S. state of Oregon. Founded as Executive Flight Services in 1961 in Portland; it was renamed to Air Oregon in 1977. In June 1982, Air Oregon was acquired by and merged into Horizon Air which is now a wholl ...

started short-haul service from Portland following deregulation in 1978, and by 1979 had routes to seven other cities in Oregon. In April 1983, United Airlines began a flight from Chicago to Tokyo's Narita Airport that stopped in Seattle–Tacoma six days a week and in Portland once a week. The company operated the service with Boeing 747s. Meanwhile,

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, operating nine hubs, with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport being its ...

wanted to add Tokyo to its network, but it lacked aircraft that could fly there nonstop from its Atlanta base. Consequently, the company established a "Pacific gateway" in Portland, a small hub for routes to Asia. Delta began service from Portland to Tokyo in March 1987. By the 1980s, the terminal building began an extensive renovation in order to update PDX to meet future needs. The ticketing and baggage claim areas were renovated and expanded, and a new Concourse D for Alaska Airlines was added in 1986. Concourse E was first to be reconstructed in 1992, and featured PDX's first moving sidewalks. The Oregon Marketplace, a small shopping mall, was added in the former waiting areas behind the ticket counters. The early 1990s saw a food court and extension added to Concourse C, and the opening of the new Concourse D in 1994. This marked the first concessions inside secured areas, allowing passengers to purchase items without having to be re-screened. An expanded parking garage, new control tower, and canopy over the curbside were finished in the late 1990s. Although hailed by architectural critics, the canopy blocked views of

Mount Hood Mount Hood, also known as Wy'east, is an active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range and is a member of the Cascade Volcanic Arc. It was formed by a subduction zone on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast and rests in the Pacific N ...

from the curbside. On July 31, 1997, during construction, the garage addition collapsed due to inadequate bolts holding girders together and inadequate securing of structural members, killing three steelworkers. Delta added domestic flights to Portland to feed the Asia routes. In 1995, the carrier offered nonstop service to Tokyo, Seoul, Nagoya, and Taipei, with the Taipei flight continuing on to Bangkok. It also flew to eight domestic cities, such as Atlanta, New York, and San Francisco. However, Delta faced obstacles to the success of its operation in Portland. These included the

1997 Asian financial crisis The 1997 Asian financial crisis gripped much of East Asia, East and Southeast Asia during the late 1990s. The crisis began in Thailand in July 1997 before spreading to several other countries with a ripple effect, raising fears of a worldwide eco ...

and complaints about the treatment of Asian passengers at the immigration facility in Portland, which led to the nickname "Deportland." Moreover, airlines were introducing more flights from the United States to Asia, allowing travelers to bypass the Portland hub. Delta reduced the number of Asian destinations to two, Tokyo and Nagoya. It finally closed the hub in March 2001 due to financial losses. The move left the airport without transpacific air service.The present H-shape of the PDX terminal, designed by

Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership ZGF Architects LLP (ZGF), formerly Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership, is an American architectural firm based in Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pa ...

, was completed on September 10, 2001, when the new A, B and C concourses, as well as the light rail line, were finished. Probably the most stunning portion of PDX's interior, the new concourses reflect a Northwest theme, focusing heavily on the nearby Columbia River. A huge celebration was to be held the following weekend, but the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

interceded. The new concourses, designed to be public spaces, were closed to non-passengers.

Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), trading as the Lufthansa Group, is a German aviation group. Its major and founding subsidiary airline Lufthansa German Airlines, branded as Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. It ranks List of largest airlin ...

started direct flights to Frankfurt in March 2003. The route was operated by Airbus A340s. In June 2004, Northwest Airlines introduced nonstop service to its hub at Tokyo-Narita aboard a McDonnell Douglas DC-10. In order to funnel passengers from other American cities onto the flight, Northwest made use of its partnerships with four other carriers instead of adding its own domestic routes to Portland. This strategy was less costly than Delta's. In August 2005, the

concourse A concourse is a place where pathways or roads meet, such as in a hotel, a convention center, a railway station, an airport terminal, a hall, or other space. The term is not limited to places where there are literally pathways or roadways or t ...

connector was opened. This is a long hallway on the secure side of the airport that connects the A, B and C concourses to the D and E concourses on the other side of the airport. If there is a long line at the checkpoint at one end of the airport, passengers may use the other checkpoint and walk through the connector to their desired concourse. The connector closed permanently on January 5, 2021, to make room for terminal expansion. The airport's carpet, installed in 1987, was designed to stylize the criss-crossing north and south runways. Beginning in 2014, a new design replaced the original pattern. In response, many residents created products to celebrate the carpet as a local icon. In December 2016, the Port of Portland renovated the security checkpoints and immigration facilities as part of its PDXNext project. This included the relocation and widening of the exit lanes by the security checkpoints and upgraded security on both sides of the terminal.

Terminal expansion (2020s)

In the latter half of 2016, the Port of Portland and several airlines at PDX approved a project intended to balance the use of the terminal and concourses at Portland International Airport. The subsequent project extended Concourse E by and added 6 new gates to the facility. After the project,

Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines Co., or simply Southwest, is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States that formerly operated on a low-cost carrier model. It is headquartered in the Love Field, Dallas, Love Field neighborhood ...

relocated its operations from Concourse C to the newly expanded Concourse E, alongside

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...

. With the relocation of Southwest Airlines to Concourse E, Alaska Airlines,

American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...

and

JetBlue Airways JetBlue Airways Corporation, stylized as jetBlue, is an American major airline headquartered in Long Island City, in Queens, New York City. Primarily a point-to-point carrier, JetBlue's network features six focus cities including its main hub a ...

became the primary users of Concourses B and C. Construction on this project began in the spring of 2017 and opened to passengers on July 15, 2020. Concourse A was demolished in November 2019 due to the age and space of the structure and was replaced by an expanded Concourse B. The extension featured 4 jet bridges, 6 ground loading zones, and improved concession stands. All Horizon operations that operated out of Concourse A was temporarily moved to Concourse C until the expanded Concourse B was completed. The new concourse opened on December 8, 2021. In March 2020, the main terminal began a five-year expansion process to generate more open space in the pre-security area and an expansion of 150 feet toward the west. The concourse connector was closed in January 2021 and the Clocktower Plaza closed three months later to make room for the expansion. During construction, the remains of the concourse connector was reused for passengers to bypass the construction zone to get to concourses C and D. Construction of phase one of the new main terminal was expected to be complete by May 2024. One month before its scheduled opening, however, the opening date for the new terminal was delayed by three months due to construction incidents on site. Phase one of the new terminal opened to the public on August 14, 2024. As of September 2024, total construction is expected to wrap up in early 2026. Alaska Airlines began shifting connecting flights from Seattle to Portland in May 2025 as part of a strategy to use the latter as a reliever for overcrowding at Seattle–Tacoma.

Facilities

The airport has one passenger terminal composed of four concourses, which are designated B, C, D, and E. There are 60 gates in total. The international section of Concourse D was renamed the Governor

Victor G. Atiyeh Victor George Atiyeh (; February 20, 1923 – July 20, 2014) was an American politician who served as the 32nd governor of Oregon from 1979 to 1987. He was also the first elected governor of Middle Eastern descent and of Syrian descent in the U ...

International Concourse to honor the former Oregon governor, who was also known as "Trader Vic" for launching international tourism and trade initiatives during his gubernatorial term. The Port of Portland requires all airport shops and restaurants to practice fair retail pricing—businesses are not allowed to charge more than at off-airport locations. Unique amenities include a

microcinema A , mini cineplex (), or microcinema is a type of independent movie theater that is not under the direct influence of any major film companies. Mini theaters are characterized by their relatively smaller size and seating capacity compared to ...

run by the Hollywood Theatre; it shows free short films by Portland-based filmmakers that are primarily focused on the culture of the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

. The terminal also houses a distillery. In the pre-security area, there are several local

food cart A food cart is a mobile kitchen set up on the street to prepare and sell street food to passers-by. Food carts are often found in cities worldwide selling food of every kind. Food carts come in two basic styles. One allows the vendor to sit ...

s. In addition, the lower terminal roadway near the

TriMet The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) is a Transit district, transit agency that serves most of the Oregon part of the Portland metropolitan area. Created in 1969 by the Oregon Legislative Assembly, Oregon legi ...

station has a work station and assembly for repairing bicycles. The Oregon Welcome Center also has a "Tool check-out".

Jet fuel Jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF, also abbreviated avtur) is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by Gas turbine, gas-turbine engines. It is colorless to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for ...

is supplied via the Portland Jet Line, an

Kinder Morgan Kinder Morgan, Inc. is one of the largest energy infrastructure companies in North America. The company specializes in owning and controlling oil and gas pipelines and terminals. Kinder Morgan owns an interest in or operates approximately ...

fuel pipeline running from the Northwest Industrial area of Portland's Willbridge Terminal to the airport. Willbridge contains 40 tanks, connected to the Olympic pipeline and Eugene pipeline, BNSF rail, truck, and ships.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

Statistics

Top destinations

Airline market share

Annual traffic

Ground transportation

Public transit service to the airport is provided by

, the metropolitan area's primary transit agency, with its

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

service. The 1986-opened

MAX Light Rail The Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) is a light rail system serving the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon. Owned and operated by TriMet, it consists of five lines connecting the Neighborhoods of Portland, Oregon, six sectio ...

system was extended to the airport in 2001. The Red Line originally provided service as far as downtown Portland only, but in 2003 it was extended west to Beaverton.Leeson, Fred (August 27, 2003). "MAX fares increase, direct service from Beaverton to PDX starts". ''The Oregonian'', p. D2. The light rail

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

is located only about from the airport's baggage claim area. Prior to 2001, TriMet service to the airport consisted of bus route 72-82nd Avenue from 1970 to 1986, and route 12-Sandy Blvd. from 1986 to 2001. Pacific Crest Lines also offers daily service to

Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada * Salem, Ontario, various places Germany * Salem, Baden-Württemberg, a municipality in the Bodensee district ** Salem Abbey (Reichskloster Salem), a monastery * Salem, Schleswig-Holstein Israel * Salem (B ...

and Bend. C-Tran route 67 bus connects the airport to Fisher's Landing Transit Center in east

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver ( ) is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, located in Clark County, Washington, Clark County. Founded in 1825 and incorporated in 1857, Vancouver had a population of 190, ...

. By road, the terminal is accessible from exit 24 on

Accidents and incidents

*On October 1, 1966,

West Coast Airlines Flight 956 West Coast Airlines Flight 956 was a scheduled commercial flight in the western United States which crashed on October 1, 1966, approximately south of Wemme, Oregon, southeast of Portland. Thirteen passengers and five crew members were aboa ...

crashed in a desolate section of the

Mount Hood National Forest The Mount Hood National Forest is a U.S. National Forest in the U.S. state of Oregon, located east of the city of Portland and the northern Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting fo ...

during descent into Portland International Airport. Of the 18 passengers and crew, there were no survivors. The probable cause of the accident was "the descent of the aircraft below its clearance limit and below that of surrounding obstructing terrain, but the Board was unable to determine the cause of such descent." The accident was the first loss of a

Douglas DC-9 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast, single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced as the Douglas DC-9 prior to August 1967, after which point the company had merged with McDonnell ...

. *On December 28, 1978,

United Airlines Flight 173 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 December 28, 1978, the McDonnell ...

was en route to Portland International Airport from

Stapleton International Airport Stapleton International Airport was a major airport in the western United States, and the primary airport of Denver, Colorado. It opened on October 17, 1929, and was replaced by the current Denver International Airport in 1995. It was a hub f ...

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

. On approach to Portland International Airport, the crew lowered the landing gear which caused a loud thump, abnormal vibration, unusual yaw, and the landing gear indicator lights failed to light. The plane circled Portland while the crew investigated the problem. After about an hour, the plane exhausted its fuel supply and crashed into the suburban neighborhood of East Burnside Street and NE 158th Ave. Of the 189 passengers and crew on board, ten died and 24 more were injured. An investigation revealed that the crash was caused by "the failure of the captain to properly monitor the aircraft's fuel state". This accident's investigation led to substantially improved aviation safety by widespread adoption of crew resource management which emphasizes crew teamwork and communication instead of a command hierarchy. *On January 20, 1983,

Northwest Airlines Northwest Airlines (often abbreviated as NWA) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 until it Delta Air Lines–Northwest Airlines merger, merged with Delta Air Lines in 2010. The merger made Delta the largest airline ...

Flight 608, a

Boeing 727 The Boeing 727 is an American Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavier Boeing 707, 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter ...

with 41 passengers and crew enroute from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to PDX was hijacked by a male hijacker. He informed a flight attendant that he had a bomb in a box and wanted to be flown to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. The hijacker agreed to land at PDX to refuel and shortly after, negotiations began. When the hijacker was engaged, federal agents boarded the aircraft through a cockpit window. When the hijacker was confronted, he threw the box at the agents and one of the agents fired one shot and killed the hijacker. It was later discovered the box contained no explosives. *On February 16, 2008, visibility of 1/8 mile was a possible factor in the fatal accident that took the life of the pilot, Oregon doctor Richard Otoski, a Klamath Falls dermatologist flying his

Columbia 400 __NOTOC__ Year 400 ( CD) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Stilicho and Aurelianus (or, less frequently, year 1153 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomina ...

. The accident took place just short of runway 10R at Portland International Airport. Otoski was the only person on board the aircraft, manufactured by the former

Lancair Lancair International, Inc. (pronounced ''"lance-air"'') is a U.S. manufacturer of general aviation aircraft kits. They are well known for their series of high-performance single-engine aircraft that offer cruise speeds that surpass many t ...

Company. "Damn it... we're gonna crash" were the last words PDX controllers heard from N621ER. The aircraft was apparently in the process of making another missed approach in poor visibility following the ILS when it clipped an airport perimeter fence, crashed, and soon caught fire. The aircraft had departed from Klamath Falls 90 minutes earlier. *On January 5, 2024,

Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight operated by Alaska Airlines from Portland International Airport in Portland, Oregon, to Ontario International Airport in Ontario, California. Shortly after takeoff on January ...

, a 3 month-old

Boeing 737 MAX 9 The Boeing 737 MAX is a series of narrow-body aircraft developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes as the fourth generation of the Boeing 737. It succeeds the Boeing 737 Next Generation and incorporates more efficient CFM International LEAP engin ...

was en route to

Ontario, California Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County, California, United States, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, it lies ...

from Portland when a door plug (a structure installed to replace an optional emergency exit door located in the rear mid-cabin just behind the wings) tore off mid-flight. The flight experienced

uncontrolled decompression An uncontrolled decompression is an undesired drop in the pressure of a sealed system, such as a pressurised aircraft cabin or hyperbaric chamber, that typically results from human error, structural failure, or impact, causing the pressurised vess ...

and was forced to turn around and perform an emergency landing at PDX, resulting in three minor injuries. The incident caused

Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

to temporarily ground nearly all 737 MAX 9's to investigate the maintenance of the door plug. *On March 18, 2024, an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-800 arriving from

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, suffered a cracked windshield while landing. The plane landed safely with no one among the 165 people on board being injured. The airline repaired the aircraft.

References

External links

*
Airport Wayfinder: Interactive video guide and detailed information about Portland International Airport
* * {{Subject bar , portal1=Aviation , portal2=Oregon , auto=y , d=y 1936 establishments in Oregon Airports established in 1936 Airports in Multnomah County, Oregon Airports in Portland, Oregon Buildings and structures in Northeast Portland, Oregon Port of Portland (Oregon) Works Progress Administration in Portland, Oregon