Grumman G-73 incident near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, October 1, 1997
On October 1, 1997 at about 8:15 pm local time, a Grumman G-73, registered N168WS, suffered minor damage in an incident near Fort Lauderdale, Florida (Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the partial failure of a component of the hydraulic system resulting in the collapse of the nose landing gear during the landing roll.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 1, 1997 · about 8:15 pm local time
- Place
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida · Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Grumman G-73 · all G-73s on the register
- Registration
- N168WS · registry record · serial J-5
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After lowering the landing gear the pilot confirmed that it was down and locked while on final approach. After touchdown during the landing roll, the nose landing gear collapsed. Post incident trouble shooting of the hydraulic system revealed that the landing gear hydraulic selector valve failed to hold pressure resulting in the collapse of the nose landing gear.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,884 hours in all; 28 in this make and model; 70 in the last 90 days; 25 in the last 30 days; 7,156 as pilot in command; 2,027 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,145 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 5, 1997; 35 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 12
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-1340 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FLL at 4:15 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 9R, 5,276 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 120° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 20,000 ft; scat at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 86°F (30°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:48 pm from FLL
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 |
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 docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site 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 MIA98IA001.