NTSB Makes Urgent Recommendation on Learjet Landing Gear

The National Transportation Safety Board yesterday issued an urgent safety recommendation to address a potentially catastrophic maintenance error that could cause main landing gear separation on most Bombardier Learjet models. This action covers all 20- and 30-series Learjets, as well as Learjet 55 and 60 models—effectively, all Learjets except the 40/45 and 70/75 variants. In all, the NTSB urged the FAA to require operators of about 1,883 Learjets in service in the U.S. to comply with Bombardier service bulletins covering landing gear attachment inspections.

A second recommendation called for the FAA to require Bombardier to revise maintenance procedures to include a post-maintenance visual check confirming that the aft landing gear trunnion pin and retaining bolt are correctly engaged. The NTSB warned that without such a verification step, a mechanic could install the retaining bolt without it passing through the trunnion pin, leaving the main gear unsecured to the airframe. The error “is not readily detectable during routine maintenance or preflight inspections,” the agency said.

Recommendations stem from the ongoing investigation of a February 10, 2025 accident in Scottsdale, Arizona, involving a Learjet 35A. After touchdown, the airplane entered a left-wing-low attitude and veered left, leaving the runway and striking a parked Gulfstream G200. The Learjet’s left main gear separated during the accident sequence and came to rest on a nearby taxiway. The captain died, while the first officer, a passenger, and one person aboard the Gulfstream sustained serious injuries.

During that investigation, the NTSB discovered three earlier instances in which a Learjet main landing gear detached because the retaining bolt was not engaged through the trunnion pin. On Oct. 4, 1995, the left main gear of a Learjet 25B collapsed during landing rollout at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City. On Feb. 4, 2001, another Learjet 25B lost its left main gear shortly after touchdown at Saint Lucie County International Airport in Fort Pierce, Florida, skidding off the runway. On March 28, 2008, a Learjet VU-35A operated by the Brazilian Air Force experienced a runway excursion after its left main gear collapsed on landing at Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International Airport in Brazil.

Bombardier issued a service bulletin after the Scottsdale crash instructing operators to perform a one-time inspection to confirm correct gear attachment, but the NTSB said only 12% of affected airplanes have been checked so far.

Urgent recommendations are reserved for safety issues that pose an immediate risk to life or property. The NTSB emphasized that it does not need to wait for final findings to issue such directives; recipients have 30 days to respond.