Amateur-built VELOCITY 173RG accident near Lebanon, New Hampshire, July 17, 2023
On July 17, 2023 at about 2:25 pm local time, a 1997 amateur-built VELOCITY 173RG, registered N173DT, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Lebanon, New Hampshire (Lebanon Municipal Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s failure to store the nose landing gear securing bar within reach in the cabin, which resulted in a nose gear collapse following a manual landing gear extension.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 17, 2023 · about 2:25 pm local time
- Place
- Lebanon, New Hampshire · Lebanon Municipal Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built VELOCITY 173RG, built 1997
- Registration
- N173DT · registry record · serial 001
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the pilot, during the preflight inspection he noted the battery switch was in the ON position from two days prior and the battery was depleted. He had line personnel from the fixed based operator help jump start the airplane, which started easily, and he spent 20 minutes on the ramp setting up the avionics and preparing for the flight. He checked the voltage and “assumed the battery was accepting charge from the alternator” and elected to depart on the flight. About 10 miles into the flight, he noticed that the panel lighting was dimming, and the avionics turned off. The pilot returned to the departure airport and while enroute, he noticed the alternator circuit breaker was popped. He reset the circuit breaker and power was restored to the avionics. While circling over the airport, he was cleared to land, and attempted to lower the landing gear, however the alternator circuit breaker popped again, and the avionics powered down. The pilot performed an emergency hydraulic dump to lower the landing gear, however, the nose securing bar, which was used to lock the nose gear in the down position when manually extending the landing gear, was located out of reach in the back of the cabin. The pilot asked the tower controller if the nose landing gear was down, and the response indicated that it “appeared to be down.” The pilot landed the airplane, however when the nose landing gear touched down it collapsed, and the airplane slid about 500 ft, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Landing gear collapse during landing defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Forgotten action/omission › Pilot
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Gear extension and retract sys › Inoperative
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Nose/tail landing gear › Inoperative
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot, private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 6,388 hours in all; 300 in this make and model; 60.9 in the last 90 days; 24.8 in the last 30 days; 5,535 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: June 14, 2023
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,100 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, June 14, 2023
- Maximum gross weight: 2,600 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360 (piston); 5,100 hours total
The flight
- Destination: DNN Dalton GA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18, 5,200 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 9 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.91 inHg
- Observation at 10:53 am from LEB
Weather report (METAR): KLEB 171453Z 22006KT 9SM CLR 27/18 A2991 RMK AO2 SLP114 T02720183 53005
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
2 documents, released by the NTSB on August 31, 2023. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 11 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Investigative Photographs | PDF, 3 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ERA23LA302.