NTSB CAROL · Event
Event ATL01LA030
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The mechanic's failure to properly install and secure the left main landing gear aft trunnion pin in accordance with procedures.
Factual narrative
On February 4, 2001, at 1324 eastern standard time, a Learjet 25B, N48WA, skidded off the runway at St. Lucie County International Airport, in Fort Pierce, Florida. The aero medical flight was operated by Able American Jets under the provisions of Title 14 CFR part 91, with a flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The Learjet received substantial damage, and the pilot and crew were not injured. The flight originated from Ft. Pierce, Florida, at 1200. According to pilot, after taking off, he experienced a landing gear retraction problem. Unable to resolve this problem, the crew then decided to return to St. Lucie County International Airport for an emergency landing. Shortly after touch down, the left main landing gear broke away from the airframe. The pilot reported that he lost directional control, and the aircraft then skidded off to the left side of the runway. Examination of the aircraft maintenance records revealed that the landing gear assembly had been removed and reinstalled during a recent maintenance procedure. Further examination revealed that the left main landing gear trunnion pin was improperly installed and not in accordance with the Learjet maintenance manual instructions. During take off the pilot experienced a landing gear retraction problem. Shortly after touch down, the left main landing gear broke away from the airframe. Directional control of the airplane was lost, and the airplane skidded off to the left side of the runway. Examination of the aircraft maintenance records revealed that the landing gear assembly had been removed and reinstalled during a recent maintenance procedure. Further examination revealed that the left main landing gear trunnion pin was improperly installed and secured in accordance with the Learjet maintenance manual. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2001_ATL01LA030.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall, maintenance). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2023 · Conference paper
The Value of Strong Partnerships to Build a Successful Aviation Maintenance Career Pathway Program for Transitioning Military Service Members
The aerospace industry is competing with other industries for a qualified workforce, and many of those competing industries are investing heavily in creating workforce development pipelines.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2026 · Journal article (IJAAA)
From Reactive to Predictive: A hybrid Trust-Mediated Adoption Framework for Data-Driven Maintenance in Distributed-Authority Aviation Environments
Modern aviation maintenance operates within increasingly data-intensive technological environments, yet the operational integration of predictive maintenance into routine decision-making remains incon…
- NASA NTRS 2026 · Conference Paper
Computational Analysis of Steady State Aerodynamics of Transonic Truss-Braced Wing Configuration in Deep Stall
This study presents a computational investigation of steady state aerodynamics of the Subsonic Ultra-Green Aircraft Research (SUGAR) Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW) configuration over a wide range …
- Semantic Scholar 2025 · Article (Applied Sciences)
Decision-Making Framework for Aviation Safety in Predictive Maintenance Strategies
The implementation of predictive maintenance (PM) in aviation presents unique challenges due to strict safety requirements, complex operational environments, and regulatory constraints.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2024 · Journal article (JAAER)
Low-Resource Automatic Speech Recognition Domain Adaptation – A Case-Study in Aviation Maintenance
With timeliness and efficiency being critical in the aviation maintenance industry, the need has been growing for smart technological solutions that optimize and streamline the different underlying ta…
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2024 · Journal article (JAAER)
A New Trajectory in UAV Safety: Leveraging Reinforcement Learning for Distance Maintenance Under Wind Variations
In the field of aviation, safety is a critical cornerstone, and the operation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) systems is deeply connected with this principle.
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