By David Shepardson
(Reuters) -The National Transportation Safety Board on Wednesday issued an urgent recommendation to operators of 10 Bombardier Learjet airplane models to ensure main landing gear is attached correctly.
The recommendation to the Federal Aviation Administration to mandate compliance with manufacturer service bulletins on landing gear would cover 1,883 airplanes currently in service. The recommendation stems from the investigation of a fatal February 10 runway incident in Scottsdale, Arizona, involving a Learjet 35A, and three prior events in which Learjet landing gear disconnected from the airframe because a retaining bolt was not engaged through an aft pin.
In the February incident, the Learjet 35A skidded off the runway and struck a Gulfstream 200 jet, fatally injuring the captain while three others onboard and an occupant inside the parked airplane sustained serious injuries.
Bombardier, which did not immediately comment, in 2022 halted Learjet aircraft production. The FAA also did not immediately comment.
The NTSB cited incidents in 1995, 2001 and 2008 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Florida and Recife, Brazil.
The board noted a Bombardier service bulletin issued after the Scottsdale accident asked operators to perform a one-time check to ensure landing gear was correctly attached, but only 12% of airplanes have been inspected, according to Bombardier.
The NTSB also called on the FAA to require Bombardier to revise procedures to include a post-maintenance visual check of the pin and retaining bolt because a mechanic could inadvertently install the retaining bolt without it passing through the pin.
(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Leslie Adler and Matthew Lewis)
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