Gates Learjet 25B accident near Bend, Oregon, November 17, 1988
On November 17, 1988 at about 3:35 pm local time, a Gates Learjet 25B, registered N143CK, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bend, Oregon (Bend Municipal airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 17, 1988 · about 3:35 pm local time
- Place
- Bend, Oregon · Bend Municipal
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Gates Learjet 25B · all 25Bs on the register
- Registration
- N143CK · registry record · serial 143
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT VISUALLY INSPECTED THE RUNWAY WHILE MAKING A LOW PASS. HE REPORTED AFTERWARD THAT HE SAW NO EVIDENCE OF ICE OR SNOW ON THE RUNWAY. THE COPILOT CALLED UNICOM BUT WAS TOLD, WHILE THE AIRCRAFT WAS ON SHORT FINAL, THAT THE WINDS WERE CALM AND THE FAVORED RUNWAY WAS 16. THE COPILOT DID NOT ASK UNICOM ABOUT THE EXISTING RUNWAY CONDITIONS. DURING LANDING ROLL, ABOUT 2,000 FEET BEYOND THE LANDING THRESHOLD, THE AIRCRAFT BEGAN TO FISH TAIL AND SKID. THE PILOT WAS UNABLE TO STOP THE AIRCRAFT AND AN OVERRUN OCCURRED. DURING THE OVERRUN, THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK A BARBED WIRE FENCE AND THEN CAME TO REST IN A DITCH. AFTER THE ACCIDENT, BLACK ICE WAS FOUND TO BE PRESENT ON THE LAST ONE HALF OF THE RUNWAY. THIS AIRCRAFT WAS NOT EQUIPPED WITH THRUST REVERSERS. THE DRAG CHUTE WAS PLACARDED INOPERATIVE.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 8,753 hours in all; 2,573 in this make and model; 148 in the last 90 days; 26 in the last 30 days; 8,303 as pilot in command; 3,350 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,631 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 20, 1988; 76 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 15,000 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CJ610-6 (turbojet); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MFR Medford OR at 3:15 pm
- Destination: S07 Bend OR
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 16, 5,000 ft by 75 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.