Even the Fix Has Failed- the Grounding of the Lear 45

On 20 Mar 03 the FAA responded to the near loss of control of VH-SQR (a Singapore Flying College Lear 45 at Brisbane Australia on 13 Mar) with an AD designed to rectify a jackscrew failure.

The primary and secondary load paths had failed. The fix has not been effective and in the latest 13 Aug 03 AD (2003-16-09) the 222 Lear 45's have been grounded until the new parts can be rectified - because the FAA considers "the configuration and quality controls over the production of these parts were so deficient that we do not have confidence that the airplane can be operated safely for any period of time."

For copies of 4 pertinent AD's and a reference to the original incident (ATSB occurrence #200301304) and other recent Lear 45 accidents see below. For ASW coverage of Alaska 261 jackscrew failure and the failsafe jackscrew solution see ASW's dated 16 Dec 02 p.5 and 20 Jan 03 p.3


2003-16-19 effective 13 Aug 03 link to AD	requires replacement of the horizontal stabilizer actuator assembly (HSAA) with a new HSAA. This action is necessary to prevent structural failure of the HSAA, which could result in possible loss of control of the airplane. Action was prompted by a report of severe vibration followed by a rapid nose down pitch change on a Learjet Model 45 airplane. The cause of the incident is attributed to brittle fracture material properties of certain components of the HSAA.
In between 2003-16-19 and 2003-06-51 the FAA admits:	Although the HSAA having P/N-005 is an improvement over the P/N-001, it was not manufactured per the type design data. A brittle fracture could occur on the acme screw and nut within the assembly having P/N-005, similar to that on the assembly having P/N-001. During our investigation of this problem, we determined that the configuration and quality controls over the production of these parts were so deficient that we do not have confidence that the airplane can be operated safely for any period of time. Therefore, this AD allows operation only for the purpose of positioning the airplane where the replacement required by this AD can be accomplished.
2003-06-51 effective 20 Mar 03 link to AD	The FAA has received a report of severe vibration followed by a rapid nose down pitch change on a Learjet Model 45 airplane. Investigation revealed that the acme screw of the horizontal stabilizer actuator assembly was fractured. The actuator features a dual load path. The actuator assembly's primary load path, the acme screw, failed. Loads should have been retained by the secondary internal retaining rod. However, the threaded nut on the secondary internal retaining rod had worked completely off, either latently before the fracture or from the effects of the fractured screw.
Additional
2003-16-09 effective 27 Aug 03 link to AD	to prevent failure of the shear pins in the trunnion assemblies of the MLGs, which could result in the collapse of a MLG
2003-17-08 effective 24 Sep 03 link to AD	intended to prevent moisture contamination and subsequent formation of ice which could cause bending and damage of the squat switch assembly, driving the nose wheel to an uncommanded angle against the force of the steering system. This condition could result in the airplane departing the runway at high speeds during landing

for the original incident (and Bombardier comments) see this link (ATSB Report is not yet out)

	2003-17-08	09/24/2003	Nose landing gear (NLG) squat switch camrod
grounder	2003-16-19	08/13/2003	Horizontal Stabilizer Actuator Assembly (HSAA)
	2003-16-09	08/27/2003	Main landing gears (MLG)
	2003-06-51	Upon Receipt	Horizontal stabilizer actuator assembly
	2003-06-51	04/28/2003	Horizontal stabilizer actuator
	2002-17-01	09/12/2002	Foot Warm circuit breaker
	2001-03-05	02/20/2001	Anti-ice Manifold Assembly
	2000-08-13	05/15/2000	Brakes

from this link

13 Mar 03

VH-SQR (a Singapore Flying College Lear 45 from Maroochydore Airport, Brisbane Australia) had a jackscrew failure. The primary and secondary load paths had failed. ATSB Report on occurrence #200301304) is yet to be released.

01 Jun 03 0900L

Linate Italy

Learjet 45 of Eurojet Italia I-ERJC

Crashed after possible birdstrike (on 3^rd landing attempt)

2fatal/2crew

crashed on warehouse. imagery at:

www.iasa.com.au/learlin.htm

15 Aug 03

Cancun Mex

Lear 45 (TBC)

A/c made a gear-up landing and airfield was closed.

nil

type recently grounded by a 13 Aug jackscrew AD (see imagery URL)

The Learjet 45. Over 2000 Learjets have been built and are in operation as corporate jets worldwide.

August 18, 2003

Lear 45s Grounded By Tail Problems

By Russ Niles
Newswriter, Editor

"During our investigation of the problem, we determined that the configuration and quality controls over the production of these parts were so deficient that we do not have confidence that the airplane can be operated safely for any period of time," a new Airworthiness Directive states. The FAA, last week, grounded 222 Learjet Model 45 business jets until their horizontal stabilizer actuator assemblies are replaced. The new AD issued last Wednesday supersedes an earlier one that called for inspection of the assembly. At the heart of the problem is a screw and nut assembly that can get brittle and fail. New parts are expected to be available soon. The original AD was issued after a report of a severe vibration, followed by a rapid nose-down pitch change, by the pilot of one of the eight-seat bizjets. While the tail problems are being tended to, Lear 45 owners might want to take care of another AD concerning the landing gear. New shear pins must be installed in the trunnion assemblies of the main landing gear to prevent a possible gear failure. The AD is effective August 27.

from this link

POSTED AT 9:23 AM EDT

Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2003

FAA grounds 222 Bombardier Learjets

Canadian Press

E-mail this Article

Print this Article

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has ordered the immediate grounding of all 222 Learjet 45 business jets after discovering that a part in the tail section can fail abruptly, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.

Learjet is a division of Bombardier Inc. of Montreal.

The Post says an FAA airworthiness directive, to be printed in the U.S. Federal Register, said the agency has found that a screw-and-nut assembly in the control mechanism of the horizontal stabilizer, which helps control up and down movements, can break cause the plane to dive out of control.

The FAA has been investigating the assembly since March when a Learjet 45 experienced a severe vibration and sudden nose-down pitch. The crew was able to control the airplane.

"During our investigation of this problem, we determined that the configuration and quality controls over the production of these parts were so deficient that we do not have confidence the airplane can be operated safely for any period of time," the FAA order said, according to the Post.

In the US the FAA has recently issued two ADs having to do with the 45. One was for the gear and isn't effective until August 27. The other for the HSAA was effective on August 13 but allowed three days for a ferry flight to get the airplane to a place where the work could be done. All Lear 45s needed the part replaced. The original (April 2003) AD which mandated replacement of the HSAA didn't apply to ALL 45s, and the new AD may only apply to those 45s which had their HSAA replaced under the earlier AD. Nevertheless all Lear 45's are grounded until the Ad is complied with.

2003-16-19 LEARJET: Amendment 39-13272. Docket 2003-NM-142-AD.

APPLICABILITY: All Model 45 airplanes, certificated in any category.

COMPLIANCE: Required as indicated, unless accomplished previously.

To prevent structural failure of the horizontal stabilizer actuator assembly
(HSAA), which could result in possible loss of control of the airplane,
accomplish the following:

REPLACEMENT

(a) Except as provided by paragraph (b) of this AD, before further flight
after the effective date of this AD, replace the HSAA having part
number (P/N) 6627401000-005 with a new HSAA, per a method approved by
the Manager, Wichita Aircraft Certification Office (ACO), FAA.

FLIGHT LIMITS

(b) Non-revenue flights are permitted within 3 days after the effective date
of this AD only for the purpose of positioning the airplane to a
location where the replacement required by paragraph (a) of this
AD can be accomplished.

PARTS INSTALLATION

(c) As of the effective date of this AD, no person may install an HSAA, P/N
6627401000-005, on any airplane.

ALTERNATIVE METHODS OF COMPLIANCE

(d) In accordance with 14 CFR 39.19, the Manager, Wichita Aircraft
Certification Office (ACO), FAA, is authorized to approve
alternative methods of compliance for this AD.

EFFECTIVE DATE

(e) This amendment becomes effective August 13, 2003.

Issued in Renton, Washington, on August 8, 2003. Vi L. Lipski, Manager,
Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg Davied, Aerospace Engineer, Airframe
and Propulsion Branch, ACE-118W, FAA, Wichita Aircraft Certification Office,
1801 Airport Road, Room 100, Mid-Continent Airport, Wichita, Kansas 67209;
telephone (316) 946-4128; fax (316) 946-4107.

Learjet 45 Fleet Grounded Until Fix Is Made
An AD issued yesterday has effectively grounded the U.S.-registered fleet of 175 Bombardier Learjet 45s (and about 11 others in the UK, as a result of a similar AD by the CAA). AD 2003-16-19 stems from an incident last March in Australia in which a Learjet 45 experienced “severe vibration followed by a rapid nose-down pitch change.” The crew was able to maintain control of the aircraft and land safety. The ensuing investigation determined the incident was due to failure of the horizontal stabilizer actuator jackscrew and resulted in an April 11 AD requiring the replacement of part number T/N6627401000-001 with newly approved -005. But the FAA has decided that while P/N-005 is an improvement over P/N-001, the new part “was not manufactured per the type design data. A brittle fracture could occur. We determined that the configuration and quality controls over the production of these parts were so deficient that we do not have confidence that the airplane can be operated safely for any period of time.” The part is manufactured by MPC Products of Skokie, Ill. Owners have until this Saturday to fly the aircraft to a maintenance facility of their choice. According to a Learjet spokesman, the company has faith in P/N-005 and is working with the FAA to prove it will do the job. Bombardier is also working with the FAA on the certification of a new part should approval of P/N-005 not be granted. In either case, the certification process is not expected to conclude until the end of the month, after which replacement parts will start to be shipped. In the interim, supplemental lift will be provided by Skyjet, Bombardier’s air charter operation.

Australia has grounded all of their 45's TFN

MONTREAL, Aug 13 (Reuters) - The grounding of Bombardier's (Toronto:BBDb.TO - News) popular Learjet 45 because of a potential problem with the business jet's tail will more likely create red faces at the Canadian train and plane maker than increase the flow of red ink, analysts said on Wednesday.

"It's more of an embarrassment than a serious problem," said Bill Dane, business aircraft specialist with consulting firm Forecast International DMS.

The market reacted placidly to the news as Bombardier stock ended up 2 Canadian cents at C$4.95 on the Toronto Stock Exchange (News - Websites) on Wednesday on volume 4.9 million shares, slightly above its average trading volume.

Bombardier has delivered 230 Learjet 45s over the last five years, but the U.S. Federal Aviation Agency grounded them because of a potential defect in a tail screw that could cause pilots to lose control of the plane.

Bombardier expects it will take one or two weeks to have a new screw set ready for certification, and hopes the aviation authority will then approve it quickly.

"At least they discovered the problem before any plane crashed or somebody got killed. If they can play it down from a public relations point of view and implement these upgrades, then they should be able to put this behind them," Dane said.

A Bombardier spokesman refused to give an estimate of how much the company is expecting to pay to fix the problem, but analysts see the cost as minor.

"I don't think that there is a significant amount of costs associated with it, I guess it's more the perception that may be more negative to the company longer term," said Cameron Doerksen, aviation analyst for Dlouhy Merchant in Montreal.

Bombardier has a leading 25 percent share of the business jet market, slightly ahead of Gulfstream, a unit of defense contractor General Dynamics Corp (NYSE:GD - News), according the most recent study by aviation consulting firm Teal Group.

Other rivals are Cessna, unit of U.S. conglomerate Textron Inc.(NYSE:TXT - News), France's Dassault Aviation (Paris:AVMD.PA - News) and U.S. defense group Raytheon (NYSE:RTN - News).

Bombardier asked clients to use chartered jets while the planes are grounded and agreed to pay part of the rental costs. A rough estimate would put the maximum rental costs at about $1.2 million per week for the first two weeks, and twice that amount in the subsequent weeks.

A Bombardier spokesman said the real rental costs will "certainly not (be of) that kind of magnitude."

SPEED COUNTS

Bombardier will also likely have to pay for replacement of the screws, and could face lawsuits from customers for losses incurred.

"It's is imperative to get the planes off the ground and flying again. There are lot of people losing money, especially the folks who provide fractional services, most notably Bombardier's own Flexjet," said Richard Aboulafia, analyst for the Teal Group.

Bombardier said its Flexjet program, which allows clients to share the use of a business aircraft, had only 29 Learjet 45s in its fleet of 100 aircraft, so the grounded planes will be easily replaced with other models.

Bombardier bought Learjet in 1990, just in time for a decade of strong growth that saw the business jet market triple in value, but the downturn that followed has dried up orders.

Bombardier, whose share price has fallen by 80 percent over the past two years, is also facing concerns over its regional jet deliveries to U.S. airlines and their affiliates, as the Sept. 11 attacks aggravated the financial distress of an already fragile industry.

from this link

FAA Grounds All Learjet Model 45 Business Jets

By Don Phillips
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 12, 2003; 4:50 PM

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered the immediate grounding of all 222 Learjet Model 45 business jets after discovering that a part in the tail section can fail abruptly, possibly leading to a loss of control of the airplane.

The grounding is a blow to Learjet owner Bombardier of Montreal, whose stock was already undergoing a pounding in recent months. It was also a blow to Bombardier subsidiary Flexjets, one of three major competitors to Warren Buffett's business jet fractional ownership company, Netjets. Flexjets has 30 Learjet-45s out of a fleet of 105 aircraft while Netjets has none in its 396-jet fleet.

An FAA airworthiness directive, to be printed in tomorrow's Federal Register, said the agency has found that a screw-and-nut assembly in the control mechanism of the horizontal stabilizer, which helps control up and down movements, can fracture suddenly and can cause the plane to dive out of control.

The agency has been investigating the assembly since March when a Learjet-45 experienced a severe vibration and sudden nose-down pitch. The crew controlled the airplane, and the FAA on April 11 ordered that the screw-and-nut assembly be replaced with a newer model. However, the FAA order said the agency has now discovered that the newer assembly, although an improvement, is also prone to brittle fractures.

The only flight allowed is to position aircraft at maintenance bases where the part can be replaced once a new part is designed, manufactured and certified.

Learjet spokesman David Franscom said the company expects to have a part ready for FAA certification within 10 to 15 days, and it expects the FAA to act quickly afterward. In the meantime, Learjet is paying a portion of the extra costs of owners, beginning with 25 percent of charter aircraft costs up to 10 hours a week, increasing to 50 percent if the grounding lasts three weeks or longer.

The Learjet-45, first manufactured in 1995, is an eight-passenger corporate jet that has been enjoying a sales boom in the past two years.

According to a database maintained by Airclaims Ltd., a London insurance conglomerate, 222 Lear-45s have been manufactured and 24 are on order. Flexjets owns 30, has ordered 10 more and has an option on 10 additional aircraft.

Franscom said Flexjets expects to serve its customer base with its remaining 75 jets--20 Canadair Challengers, 14 Learjet-31s and 41 Learjet-60s. Among Flexjets's customers is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

According to Airclaims, most of the rest of the Lear-45s are operated by individual corporations. ConAgra Foods Inc. operates nine, FedEx Leasing Corp. operates six, Gold Air International owns five and has five more on order, and Southern Services Company Inc. owns five. Some are listed as "unconfirmed corporate operator," possibly meaning they are owned by celebrities who do not want their ownership known.

Fractional ownership has become an increasingly popular way to travel for business executives and celebrities who find the hassle of commercial air travel and security to be an inefficient use of their time. Companies or individuals can buy a certain number of hours of flying time or a set portion of a type of jet each year. For instance, a 1/8 interest in a Citation Bravo might go for a one-time charge of $750,000, plus a charge for flying time, while the same share of a larger Citation Excel might sell for a $1.25 million one-time charge plus flying time.

Buffet entered the fractional ownership business in 1998 when his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. bought Executive Jet Aviation, whose chairman Richard Santulli had just formed the Netjets fractional ownership program.

from this link

If you have traveled through smaller airports or have much experience flying in corporate aircraft, you have probably seen or flown in a Lear Jet. The father of this amazing airplane was a man named Bill Lear...an inventor, aviator, and business leader. It took him several years to make his dream a reality, but in 1963, the first Lear Jet made its maiden voyage, and in 1964 he delivered his first production jet to a client. Lear's success was immediate, and he quickly sold many aircraft. But long after he got his start, Lear learned that the two aircraft he'd built had crashed under mysterious circumstances. He was devastated. Lear immediately sent word to all of the owners to ground their planes until he and his team could determine what had caused the crashes. The thought that more lives might be lost was far more important to him than any adverse publicity that action might generate in the media.

As he researched the ill-fated flights, Lear discovered a potential cause, but he couldn't verify the technical problem on the ground. There was only one sure way to find out whether he had diagnosed the problem correctly. He would have to try to recreate it personally -- in the air. It was a dangerous process, but that's what he did. As he flew the jet, he nearly lost control and almost met the same fate as the other two pilots. But he managed to make it through the tests, and he was able to verify the defect. Lear developed a new part to correct the problem and fitted all fifty-five planes with it, eliminating the danger.

Grounding the planes cost Lear a lot of money. And it planted seeds of doubt in the minds of potential customers. As a result, he needed two years to rebuild the business. But Lear never regretted his decision. He was willing to risk his success, his fortune, and even his life to solve the mystery of those crashes -- but not his integrity. And that takes character.

How a leader deals with the circumstances of life tells you many things about his character. Adversity is a crossroads that makes a person choose one of two paths: character or compromise. Every time he chooses character, he becomes stronger, even if that choice brings negative consequences.

from this link