Factual Report: Learjet crash-lands at Goodland
Bombardier Learjet 35A, Goodland, Kan., Oct.

Bombardier Learjet 35A, Goodland, Kan., Oct. 17, 2007–The Jagee Ventures Learjet broke out of the clouds at 250 feet agl on approach to Runway 30 at Renner Field, slightly left of centerline. The pilot, in aligning the airplane with the centerline, experienced an uncontrolled left and right rolling motion. The right tip tank hit the runway and the aircraft ran off the right side of the runway, leveling out and contacting the ground. The aircraft then banked left and the left tip tank hit the runway. The pilot noticed that the aileron augment (spoileron) annunciator light was on.

Maintenance records indicated that the aircraft’s computer driven spoileron system was not “working properly” and maintenance was done on October 2. The customer recalled the airplane while the spoileron system was being troubleshot and the system had been “deactivated” in accordance with the Learjet minimum equipment list (MEL) procedure. The circuit breaker was pulled and secured with a tie wrap and a decal was installed on the instrument panel indicating the system was deactivated. Neither the tie wrap nor decal were noted after the accident and both the spoiler and spoileron circuit breakers were in the closed position. According to the master MEL for the aircraft, the spoileron system may be inoperative provided the ground spoilers are operative, the airplane is operated at or below Flight Level 250, and the airplane is operated with a maximum crosswind limitation of 20 knots.

According to the pilot, the “aug/ail” circuit breaker was pulled during the entire flight except for a short time in cruise when he attempted to reset the system. The system would not reset so he pulled the circuit breaker and it remained in that position for the remainder of the flight.