Learjet LR60
Columbia, SC — September 20, 2008
Event Information
| Date | September 20, 2008 |
| Event Type | ACC |
| NTSB Number | DCA08MA098 |
| Event ID | 20081003X16308 |
| Location | Columbia, SC |
| Country | USA |
| Coordinates | 33.99992, -81.02933 |
| Airport | Columbia Metropolitan |
| Highest Injury | FATL |
Aircraft
| Make | Learjet |
| Model | LR60 |
| Category | AIR |
| FAR Part | 135 |
| Aircraft Damage | DEST |
Conditions
| Light Condition | NITE |
| Weather | VMC |
Injuries
| Fatal | 4 |
| Serious | 2 |
| Minor | 0 |
| None | 0 |
| Total Injured | 6 |
Event Location
Probable Cause
The operator’s inadequate maintenance of the airplane’s tires, which resulted in multiple tire failures during takeoff roll due to severe underinflation, and the captain’s execution of a rejected takeoff (RTO) after V1, which was inconsistent with her training and standard operating procedures.
Contributing to the accident were (1) deficiencies in Learjet’s design of and the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) certification of the Learjet Model 60’s thrust reverser system, which permitted the failure of critical systems in the wheel well area to result in uncommanded forward thrust that increased the severity of the accident; (2) the inadequacy of Learjet’s safety analysis and the FAA’s review of it, which failed to detect and correct the thrust reverser and wheel well design deficiencies after a 2001 uncommanded forward thrust accident; (3) inadequate industry training standards for flight crews in tire failure scenarios; and (4) the flight crew’s poor crew resource management (CRM).
Full Narrative
The NTSB’s full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/publictn.htm. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-10/02.
On September 19, 2008, about 2353 eastern daylight time, a Bombardier Learjet Model 60, N999LJ, owned by Inter Travel and Services, Inc., and operated by Global Exec Aviation, overran runway 11 during a rejected takeoff at Columbia Metropolitan Airport, Columbia, South Carolina. The captain, the first officer, and two passengers were killed; two other passengers were seriously injured. The nonscheduled domestic passenger flight to Van Nuys, California, was operated under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed.
About This NTSB Record
This aviation event was investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). NTSB investigates all U.S. civil aviation accidents to determine probable cause and issue safety recommendations to prevent future accidents.