# Accident 20111011023189A: Learjet Inc 60, Lafayette, IN, October 11, 2011

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 11, 2011, 23:00 local time
- Place: Lafayette, IN
- Airport: Purdue University
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Taxi
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 40.4122° N, 86.9369° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.4122&lon=-86.9369&mi=10
- Aircraft: N64MG (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: LEARJET INC 60
- Reported engine: P&W CANADA 305 SERIES
- People aboard: 4
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 14,000 total, 3,000 in this make and model, 75 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN12CA017](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN12CA017) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20111011023189A

## Narrative

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

ON OCTOBER 11, 2011, AT APPROXIMATELY 23:00 HOURS, A LR-60, N64MG, WAS ATTEMPTING TO TAXI FROM THE RAMP OF LAFAYETTE AVIATION TO RUNWAY 10 AT THE PURDUE UNIVERSITY AIRPORT (KLAF), LOCATED IN WEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS, AT NIGHT, PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT.THE AIRCRAFT WENT OFF THE CONCRETE RAMP ONTO A GRASSY AREA THAT SEPARATES THE RAMP AND THE TAXIWAY. THE PILOT DID NOT NOTICE THIS UNTIL THE NOSE GEAR WAS IN THE GRASS.PERSONNEL FROM LAFAYETTE AVIATION WERE AVAILABLE TO ASSIST THE CREW IN REPOSITIONING THE AIRCRAFT HAD THE CREW STOPPED THE AIRCRAFT AND ASKED FOR HELP.THE CREW BELIEVED THE GRASS WAS FIRM AND LEVEL, SO POWER WAS APPLIED IN AN ATTEMPT TO CROSS THE GRASS AND GAIN ACCESS TO TAXIWAY "C".  IN THIS AREA IS A DRAINAGE DITCH THAT IS APPROXIMATELY SIX TO EIGHT FEET DEEP. THE DISTANCE FROM THE RAMPS EDGE TO TAXIWAY "C" IS APPROXIMATELY 128 FEET. THE WHEEL TRACKS OBSERVED IN THE GRASS, SHOWED THE AIRCRAFT WENT APPROXIMATELY 141 FEET FROM PAVEMENT TO PAVEMENT.AS THE AIRCRAFT ENTERED THE DITCH,  DAMAGE WAS DONE TO THE REAR DELTA FINS, WHICH  AFFECTS THE FLIGHT CHARACTERISTICS AS DEFINDED IN NTSB 830.2.THE AIRCRAT WAS TAXIED VIA TAXIWAY "C", "B" AND "E" TO THE LAFAYETTE AVIATION RAMP WHERE THE CREW OBSERVED THE DAMAGE AND SUBSEQUENTLY GROUNDED THE AIRCRAFT. THE FAA WAS NOTIFIED THE FOLLOWING MORNING BY THE PILOT IN COMMAND.A MEETING TOOK PLACE AT THE PURDUE UNIVERSITY AIRPORT ON OCTOBER 13, 2011. BOTH PILOTS WERE COUNSELED ON RAMP OPERATIONS, AND AERONAUTICAL DECISION MAKING.

## 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 CEN12CA017](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN12CA017), Oct 12, 2011: Learjet 60 (N64MG), Lafayette, IN, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's decision to taxi the airplane across an unpaved area after the nosewheel inadvertently departed the ramp pavement.

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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