Why Learjet 35/36s Crash

[@aviationworld8939]

I have about 2200 hours flying the LR35/36 around the world as air ambulance pilot. I love that aircraft. It was very responsive and fun to fly as long as you knew and understood the characteristics of its weakness. It was a challenge turning (on/off) the crew Oxygen tank valve. Relatively small wing that did not generate a lot of life. You had to be careful with regards to cross control stall during base to final and had to stay coordinated at all times. Did not have good braking systems even with TR/s you had to be careful on your landing roll. But apart from that it was lots of fun to fly. When you are light it will climb like a rocket ship. I was fortunate enough to fly the LR-28 which still holds the record set by Neil Armstrong in 1979 climbing to FL510 in 12 minutes and 27 seconds. To the best of my knowledge all of the accidents were attributed to pilot error.

[@BizJetTV]

Most of the accidents were due to pilot error. The errors were happening because of poor training.

[@rsparber]

@@BizJetTV poor training,poor skills and first of all horrendous sloppy type rating checks.

[@westwind53154]

It bothers me when an inanimate object like the Learjet gets a bum rap because of human error. Statistics, in these cases, only show how incompetent the pilots are. I still get goose bumps when I remember the first time I saw one and got to ride in one. It was the most perfect piece of art I had ever seen.

[@komrad1983]

I think that the problem is not in the Lear itself but more in mentality of Part 135 flying. We should practice more AQP AFR for GA and Part 135 and discipline GA pilots more.

[@Pilotc180]

The Lear is a wonderful airplane; learn its quirks, fly it by the book, stay current and no problemo

[@herkloader34]

Completely wrong about the Payne Stewart Lear. The bleed air control panel was found intact in the wreckage and BOTH bleed air switches were found in the “off” position. Plus, they forgot to open the O2 bottle back up during preflight (which is in the nose) so there was no O2 for the masks. Basically, the airplane was in a rapid climb as normal, but the airplane never pressurized. Crew more than likely fell unconscious during the climb. If it had depressurized, the “H” valves coming off the engines would’ve opened up while dumping bleed air into the cabin. No frost would’ve formed inside the windshield either. The 30 series Learjets broke many records and still hold several today. It’s one if the safest, most reliable jets ever built, but must be flown by the numbers by a very proficient crew, not by idiots.

[@beachbum1523]

What is your source of information? This is the first time I've heard about this. I'd be interested in studying this crash in more in depth. Any info you could offer would be appreciated.

[@BrianHuddleston-l5m]

Spot on herkloader34. That is exactly what happened to the Stewart crash. Truely a fabulous machine to fly. Like all aircraft you have to stay in front of the airplane.

[@lorenjackson8961]

What total nonsense. The Lear 35A and 36A are very good aircraft. They're build like a damn tank the wing has 8 spars for Christ Sake. The airframes have NO life limits and only a 12,000 hour wing demate inspection. The flying qualities were also improved decades ago with the Century III wing mod with Softflight. The fact that they've had more crashes can also be attributed to the fact that they made 738 of them.

[@majorp7967]

Totally agree with you.

[@TheRoguelement]

Every crash is pilot error .. If your a middle of the road pilot your going to get screwed...

[@BigWheelHawaii]

And We Get To Hear From Another ,,,, "No Nothing Blow Hard",,,,