Accident Overview
On February 10, 2025, about 1438 mountain standard time, a Gates Learjet 35A was substantially damaged during a landing accident near Scottsdale, Arizona. The captain was fatally injured, the first officer and one passenger were seriously injured, one passenger sustained minor injuries, and an occupant inside a parked airplane suffered serious injuries. The flight was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 corporate flight.
Flight History
The captain, the airplane's regular pilot, had flown consistently with the first officer since June. The flight originated from Florida that morning, with a refueling stop in Austin, Texas, where 440 gallons of JET A were added. Departing Austin, the airplane reached a peak altitude of 41,500 ft msl and continued northwest toward Scottsdale. Around 1434:20, at 2,800 ft agl, the airplane turned onto final approach for runway 21 at Scottsdale Airport (SDL).
Landing and Runway Excursion
Witness video captured the airplane on final approach with the left landing gear trailing aft from its normal position, accompanied by a circular bright spot consistent with the landing gear light illuminating the wing flap and gear strut. At 1438:16, the airplane touched down on runway 21 just before the aiming point markings with full flaps extended. It immediately assumed a left-wing-low attitude and veered left, exiting the runway surface. The airplane crossed rock-covered runway-safety-area islands between the runway and taxiways, then crossed Taxiway Bravo, struck the windsock, and entered the ramp area, colliding with the right side of a parked Gulfstream G200. The airplane was not equipped with thrust reversers, and the drag chute was not deployed.
Post-Impact Sequence
Security camera recordings showed the wreckage came to rest at 1438:36 with the nose embedded between the right side of the Gulfstream's fuselage and the inboard trailing edge of its right wing. Both engines continued to operate. The airport's emergency response fire truck arrived at 1440:53 and sprayed fire retardant on the front of the Gulfstream about five minutes later. The passengers reported that the right-seated passenger (wearing a seatbelt) regained consciousness first and woke the left-seated passenger, who had been thrown forward. The Scottsdale Fire Department arrived at about 1447:30. The right-seated passenger opened the right emergency exit at 1448:37 and egressed over the right wing carrying two small dogs while the right engine was still running, then returned to retrieve the second passenger. At 1458:11, the airport fire truck sprayed foam on the right engine to shut it down. The first officer was removed from the cockpit about 1700 and transported to the hospital.
Landing Gear Examination
The Learjet 35A is equipped with a retractable, tricycle landing gear that is electrically controlled and hydraulically actuated. The left main landing gear came to rest on Taxiway Bravo adjacent to the taxiway. The forward trunnion pin remained secured in its casting, but the aft trunnion pin was missing from the trunnion casting, although the retaining bolt with striker bracket was secured with castle nut and cotter pin. The actuator remained connected to the strut, but the inboard attachment point was no longer fastened to the airframe. The right main landing gear remained attached and was down and locked, with the outboard door separated and the inboard door locked. The left outboard gear door was not located; the inboard door was not in the uplock position. Examination of the left wheel well revealed that the aft trunnion pin remained in the aft trunnion fitting (located on spar #7) with no forward shims. An excessive amount of grease was found piled below the pin.
Previous Maintenance
The same flight crew had experienced a landing mishap on June 20, 2024, in McAlester, Oklahoma. Video showed a hard landing short of the runway with several bounces, resulting in burst left main landing gear tires. The pilot hired a mechanic—who had worked on the airplane when owned by the previous owner—to perform a hard landing inspection. The mechanic stated that after obtaining a flight permit and repositioning the airplane to his facility, he removed both main landing gear to conduct required eddy-current inspections, following the maintenance manual for all work.
The Learjet manual specifies a procedure for main gear strut installation: first secure the forward trunnion pin, then raise the strut so the forward pin engages the forward bearing. The mechanic should align the trunnion with the aft trunnion fitting, place the same number of shims as removed onto the aft trunnion pin, insert it from the aft side of spar #7 into the trunnion casing, install a temporary bolt to check tolerances, remove it, insert the striker bracket, and finally secure the retaining bolt (with Zerk fitting) through the pin and trunnion casing with a nut and cotter pin. After checking tolerance, grease is added through the Zerk fitting to lubricate the bushing via a grease hole.
Investigators measured the aft trunnion pin shoulder protrusion if the pin was not fully engaged forward into the trunnion casing. If the retaining bolt is secured before the pin is fully engaged, the grease hole could be aft of the bushing, allowing grease to escape outside the pin into the wing bay behind spar #7. With the access panel removed, the pin can be seen not making contact with the aft trunnion fitting when not fully pushed in. The NTSB is aware of at least three prior events where a Learjet landing gear disconnected from the airframe because the retaining bolt was not engaged through the aft trunnion pin.
The airplane flight time and cycles between the June 2024 maintenance and the accident are unknown. A mechanic who performed landing gear servicing in December 2024 stated nothing appeared unusual but noted that the left landing gear required an excessive amount of grease.
Cockpit Indications
The flight crew did not make any radio calls indicating awareness of a potential landing gear issue. The landing gear control panel, located on the right side of the center instrument panel, features three red UNSAFE lights, three green LOCKED DOWN lights, and a selector switch. A down-and-locked switch on each actuator housing illuminates the corresponding green light when the gear is fully deployed; if the actuator is not locked, the light remains off. Each main gear's red UNSAFE light is triggered by a microswitch on the inboard gear door; the light shows when the door is open and turns off when the door closes.