# Accident 20230211003059A: Gates Learjet Corp 55, Rochester, NY, February 11, 2023

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 11, 2023, 12:58 local time
- Place: Rochester, NY
- Airport: Frederick Douglass - Greater R
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 43.1191° N, 77.6719° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=43.1191&lon=-77.6719&mi=10
- Aircraft: N600C, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N600C-2026-09-20) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Gates Learjet 55 (registry code 5170702, https://openairdocs.org/model/gates-learjet-55) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: GATES LEARJET CORP 55
- People aboard: 6
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 13,000 total, 300 in this make and model, 60 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA23LA126](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA23LA126) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20230211003059A

## Narrative

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

ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, THE ROCHESTER NY FSDO AFG-100 RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF AN OCCURRENCE ON SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11TH AT 17:58Z (12:58 EST) AT THE ROCHESTER NY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (ROC) INVOLVING LEAR 55, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ OWNED BY A PART 91 OPERATOR ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. THE REPORT STATED THAT SMOKE WAS OBSERVED BY A COUNTY VEHICLE TRAILING BEHIND THE AIRCRAFT UPON ROLL OUT AFTER LANDING ON RWY 28. THE AIRCRAFT CONTINUED TAXIING AND WAS ADVISED BY GROUND CONTROL THAT SMOKE WAS OBSERVED COMING FROM THE AIRCRAFT. THE AIRCRAFT CONTINUED TO TAXI FROM RUNWAY 28 ALL THE WAY TO THE 700 RAMP.

UPON ARRIVING AT THE ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ SOUTH RAMP NEAR HANGAR 7, ROC ARFF FOUND THAT THERE WAS NO FIRE, BUT THAT THE LEFT WING WAS LEAKING FUEL. EFFORTS WERE MADE TO CONTROL THE SPILLED JET FUEL WITH ABSORBENT PADS AND “SPEEDY DRY” SAND. ACCORDING TO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORT, THE PIC^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^WAS ASKED TO STAY BEHIND FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, BUT LEFT THE AREA ANYWAY. THE SIC ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ ALSO LEFT AFTER DEPLANING THE PASSENGERS AND RETRIEVING THEIR LUGGAGE. WHEN ROCHESTER FIREFIGHTER ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ASKED ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ WHAT HAD HAPPENED, HIS REPLY WAS “I JUST F***ED UP”. WHEN ASKED A SECOND TIME TO BE MORE SPECIFIC, HIS REPLY WAS THE SAME.

THE WINDS AT THE TIME WERE 280 AT 11 KNOTS AND THE CONDITIONS WERE VMC. ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13TH AT 8:42 AM EST, FAA AVIATION SAFETY INSPECTOR (AIRWORTHINESS) ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ WITH THE ROCHESTER NY FSDO, AFG-100-EA23 PLACED A PHONE CALL TO ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ AND ASKED FOR A DESCRIPTION OF WHAT HAD HAPPENED. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ EXPLAINED THAT THEY HAD LEFT WEST PALM BEACH AIRPORT (PBI) THAT MORNING AND HAD AN UNEVENTFUL FLIGHT TO ROCHESTER. HE REMARKED THAT THERE WAS NOTHING UNUSUAL EXCEPT THAT ON TAKE-OFF HE FELT HE WAS EXPERIENCING A CROSSWIND FROM THE RIGHT WHICH MADE THE LEFT WING LOW. HE COMPENSATED FOR THIS AND THOUGHT NOTHING MORE ABOUT IT. THE LANDING IN ROCHESTER HE FELT WAS FIRM, BUT NOT ONE THAT MERITED ANY KIND OF CONCERN. HE FELT IT WAS A HARDER THAN NORMAL LANDING WHICH WAS A BIT SHORT, BUT NOT ONE WHICH HE FELT WAS AN ISSUE. IT WASN’T UNTIL HE DEPLANED THAT HE KNEW THE EXTENT OF THE AIRCRAFT DAMAGE. HE DEPLANED THE PASSENGERS WHICH CONSISTED OF THREE WOMEN AND A TODDLER.

A VISUAL ASSESSMENT BY FAA INSPECTORS REVEALED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR, INCLUDING A FRACTURE OF THE LEFT WING REAR SPAR, AS WELL AS A DEFORMATION OF THE LEFT WING AND EVIDENCE OF THE LEFT MAIN GEAR STRUT IMPACTING THE TOP OF THE WHEEL WELL.

## 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 ERA23LA126](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA23LA126), Feb 11, 2023: Gates Learjet 55 (N600C), Rochester, NY, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilots’ failure to attain a proper landing flare and touchdown point, which resulted in a hard landing short of the runway.

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.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.