Aviation News – NTSB calls for urgent inspections on Bombardier Learjets following fatal crash
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued an urgent safety recommendation to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), calling for immediate action on several Bombardier Learjet models after investigators discovered that landing gear could separate from the airframe during landing. The directive follows a fatal accident in Scottsdale, Arizona, highlighting a critical safety risk affecting nearly 1,900 aircraft in service worldwide.
The NTSB’s recommendation, released Wednesday, urges the FAA to mandate that operators of 10 different Learjet variants comply with Bombardier service bulletins issued in March 2025. The agency also called on Bombardier to revise its maintenance procedures, adding a visual inspection to ensure that each aircraft’s main gear aft trunnion pin and retaining bolt are properly aligned and secured. These actions are part of an ongoing investigation into the February 10 Learjet 35A crash, in which the jet veered off the runway and collided with a parked Gulfstream G200, killing the captain and injuring three others.
Technically, the issue centers on a retaining bolt that may fail to properly engage the trunnion pin, leading to the detachment of the main landing gear during touchdown. The NTSB noted that this misassembly is not easily detectable during standard maintenance or preflight checks—raising concerns about hidden risks across the global Learjet fleet. Previous incidents in 1995, 2001, and 2008 were found to involve similar failures.
“We are calling for immediate corrective action to prevent further loss of life,” an NTSB spokesperson said. “The fact that this defect can go unnoticed underlines the urgent need for enhanced inspection and verification procedures.”
The FAA and Bombardier are expected to coordinate on implementing the recommendations in the coming weeks. Operators of affected Learjets will likely face mandatory maintenance checks and potential temporary grounding while compliance measures are carried out.
The NTSB’s call underscores a broader push to tighten maintenance verification standards and reduce assembly-related risks in business aviation. With nearly 2,000 Learjets potentially affected, the aviation community is now watching closely as regulators and manufacturers act to ensure that similar gear separation incidents do not reoccur.