Boeing 737-3B7 incident near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, August 25, 1995
On August 25, 1995 at about 4:30 pm local time, a Boeing 737-3B7, registered N373US, was involved in an incident near Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 50 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
LOW ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE OF THE AUTOPILOT AILERON ACTUATOR FOR UNSPECIFIED REASONS WHICH RESULTED IN AN UNCOMMANDED ROLL TO THE RIGHT.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 25, 1995 · about 4:30 pm local time
- Place
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 50 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-3B7 · all 737-3B7s on the register
- Registration
- N373US · registry record · serial 22952
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE FLIGHT EXPERIENCED AN UNCOMMANDED ROLL TO THE RIGHT DURING DESCENT FOR LANDING. THE 'B' AUTOPILOT SYSTEM WAS ENGAGED AT THE TIME. POST INCIDENT EXAMINATION SHOWED THE 'B' AUTOPILOT AILERON ACTUATOR HAD LOW ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE. TESTS BY BOEING COMMERCIAL AIRPLANE COMPANY HAVE SHOWN THAT LOW ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE WITHIN THE AUTOPILOT AILERON ACTUATOR WILL CAUSE UNCOMMANDED ROLL OCCURRENCES.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 10,820 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 31,239 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, August 25, 1995; 4 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 135,500 lb
- Seats: 149
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Cfm CFM 56-3 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Usair, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: PHL Philadelphia PA at 2:27 pm
- Destination: FLL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 10,000 ft; scat at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 79°F (26°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:47 pm from FLL, 25 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 6 | |||
| Passengers | 44 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N373US the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.