Boeing 707-323C incident near Miami, Florida, February 22, 1996
On February 22, 1996 at about 9:18 pm local time, a Boeing 707-323C, registered N751MA, suffered minor damage in an incident near Miami, Florida (Miami International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
failure of the flight engineer to follow the appropriate emergency procedure to manually extend the nose landing gear. Factors relating to the incident were: fatigue failure of the utility hydraulic system relief valve, which resulted in an inoperative normal gear extension system; the flight engineer's lack of total time in the incident aircraft; and inadequate training given by the aircraft operator.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 22, 1996 · about 9:18 pm local time
- Place
- Miami, Florida · Miami International
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 707-323C · all 707-323Cs on the register
- Registration
- N751MA · registry record · serial 19582
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
One hour after departure, the aircraft lost all hydraulic fluid from the utility hydraulic system. On approach to Miami, the flight engineer manually extended the main landing gear. Attempts to manually lower the nose landing gear were unsuccessful. A fly-by of the tower indicated the nose gear doors were open and the gear was retracted. The aircraft was landed in this configuration. After the incident, the aircraft was raised, and the nose landing gear was extended using the normal manual extension system. After the aircraft was taken to a hangar, the nose landing gear was retracted and manually extended 4 more times with no evidence of failure or malfunction. The utility hydraulic system relief valve housing failed due to fatigue cracking, resulting in the loss of all hydraulic fluid. The flight engineer had been flying for 21 days as a flight engineer at the operator and had accumulated 25 flight hours. He reported he had 54 total flight hours as flight engineer in the Boeing 707 and 3,800 flight hours as flight engineer in the Douglas DC-8.
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: helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 10,148 hours in all; 4,500 in this make and model; 10,148 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 63,522 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, September 25, 1995; 1,129 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 328,000 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT3D-3B (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Millon Air
The flight
- Departed from: SBEG Manaus OF at 3:52 pm
- Destination: MIA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 9R, 13,000 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:22 pm from MIA, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 4 |
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 N751MA 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.