Amateur-built DHC-7-102 incident near New York, New York, July 29, 1990
On July 29, 1990 at about 9:57 pm local time, a amateur-built DHC-7-102, registered N175RA, suffered minor damage in an incident near New York, New York (John F Kennedy airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 45 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 FLIGHT CREW'S FAILURE TO FOLLLOW THE LANDING GEAR EMERGENCY CHECKLIST. FACTORS WHICH CONTRIBUTED TO THE INCIDENT WERE: A JAMMED NOSE LANDING GEAR DUE TO THE INSTALLATION OF A BOGUS PART BY UNKNOWN PERSON(S) AND A DIRTY GEAR VIEWING WINDOW.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 29, 1990 · about 9:57 pm local time
- Place
- New York, New York · John F Kennedy · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 45 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-7-102
- Registration
- N175RA · registry record · serial 56
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE FLIGHT CREW WAS UNABLE TO GET A DOWN AND LOCKED INDICATION OF THE NOSE GEAR AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS OF BOTH NORMAL AND EMERGENCY EXTENSION. IN ADDITION, THE NOSE GEAR VIEW WINDOW WAS DIRTY, AND THE CREW WAS UNABLE TO DETERMINE IF THE NOSE GEAR WAS DOWN, AND THEY RECEIVED CONFLICTING GROUND REPORTS ABOUT WHETHER 0R NOT IT WAS DOWN. DURING LANDING, THE NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED. POST INCIDENT INVESTIGATION DISCLOSED A BOGUS PART INSTALLED IN THE NOSE LANDING GEAR DOWN LOCK ACTUATOR WHICH JAMMED, PREVENTING FULL EXTENSION. THE NOSE LANDING GEAR VIEW WINDOW WAS NOT A MAINTENANCE INSPECTION ITEM. INTERVIEWS WITH THE FLT CREW DISCLOSED THEY ATTEMPTED AN EXTENSION FOR TOTAL HYDRAULIC FAILURE AND THEN RESET THE SELECTOR VALVE PRIOR TO TOUCHDOWN. WHEN THE VALVE WAS RESET, THE PRESSURE ON THE NOSE LANDING GEAR THAT WAS OBTAINED BY USING THE HAND PUMP WAS RELEASED.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,298 hours in all; 945 in this make and model; 123 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days; 1,717 as pilot in command; 1,135 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 44,000 lb
- Seats: 54
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6-50 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Pan Am Express, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: BOS Boston MA at 7:30 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 13L, 10,000 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 42 |
Other NTSB records under N175RA the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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 NYC90IA178.