# Accident 19970507020109A: Lear 31A, Ft Lauderdale, FL, May 7, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 7, 1997, 11:00 local time
- Place: Ft Lauderdale, FL
- Airport: Ft Lauderdale-Hollywood International
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Descent
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 26.0717° N, 80.1497° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at FORT LAUDERDALE/HOLLYWOOD INTL (FLL), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=26.0717&lon=-80.1497&mi=10
- Aircraft: N31PV (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: LEAR 31A
- Reported engine: GARRTT TFE73123B
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 20,000 total, 16,000 in this make and model
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL97LA080](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL97LA080) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970507020109A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

DEMO EMERGENCY DESCENT. VIBRATION AT REDLINE DISORIENTED SIC AIDED PULLOUT, LANDED. FUEL DOOR GONE. BENT STABILIZER (-23) AIRCRAFT DEPARTED FLL ON TRAINING FLIGHT, FLEW OVER ORLANDO. WHILE OVER THE ATLANTIC OCEAN @ 23,000 FT THE AIRCRAFT DESCENDED TO 13,000 FT.  THE INSTRUCTOR PILOT DEMONSTRATED AN EMERGENCY DESCENT.  WHILE DESCENDING, THE FIRST OFFICER BELIEVED THE INSTRUCTOR PILOT WAS DISORIENTED AND ASSISTED IN RECOVERING THE AIRCRAFT.  THE INSTRUCTOR PILOT STATED HE BELIEVED HE WAS DISORIENTED BY VIBRATION.  HE BELIEVED THE VIBRATION WAS FROM A PREVIOUS ENCOUNTER WITH HAIL. THE AIRCRAFT WAS RECOVERED PRIOR TO REACHING 13,000 FT.  THE AIRCRAFT LANDED SAFELY AT FXE WITHOUT INJURY.  DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT WAS SUBSTANTIAL DUE TO THE FOLLOWING AREAS BEING DAMAGED.  LT/RT ELEVATORS, HORIZONTAL STABILIZER, SINGLE POINT PRESSURE REFUELING DOOR AREA AND ASSEMBLY, LT HAND AERODYNAMIC FAIRING, AND LOWER FUSELAGE SKID.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB ATL97LA080](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL97LA080), May 7, 1997: Learjet 31A (N31PV), Atlantic Ocean (Atlantic Ocean), substantial damage. Probable cause: the pilot-in-command's failure to maintain airspeed within the design structural limits of the airplane.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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