Preliminary report issued on Scottsdale crash involving Mötley Crüe singer’s plane
Damage to the landing gear on a private jet owned by Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil could have contributed to a fatal crash in Scottsdale.
Firefighters work around a jet that collided with a parked plane Monday, Feb. 10, 2025, at Scottsdale Airport. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
PHOENIX (AP) — Prior damage to the landing gear on a private jet owned by Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil could have contributed to a fatal crash earlier this month, according to a preliminary report released Thursday by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Months before the aircraft veered off a Scottsdale Airport runway and hit a business jet, killing one person, the same flight crew had a landing issue with the Learjet in Oklahoma in June 2024. The jet took a hard landing, causing both left main landing gear tires to burst.
The pilot hired a mechanic to perform a hard landing inspection, which prompted the removal of both main landing gear for the inspection, according to the report.
Later that year, another mechanic noted that the left landing gear took an “excessive” amount of grease, but nothing appeared “unusual,” the report said. The flight crew didn’t make any radio calls indicating there was a possible problem with the landing gear.
Extra grease on landing gear is possible ‘red flag’
“That’s kind of a red flag,” said Erwin Winkler, chief flight instructor and director of maintenance at Tucson Flight School, referring to extraordinary amount of grease.
The NTSB said the landing gear has disconnected from the airframe in at least three other events because a certain bolt was not properly engaged through a pin.
It looks like the pin, which the grease must flow through, might have not been installed correctly, Winkler said.
The fatal crash killed 78-year-old Joie Vitosky, one of the two pilots on board, according to the Scottsdale Police Department.
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Comments
7 Comments
I know plenty of retired airline pilots and other experienced pilots from various backgrounds that go on flying corporate and private jets for decades and you don't read about those guys being in accidents or incidents very often. While age may have played a role in the hard landing, the cause of this accident will fall mostly on the mechanics that failed to review the work of prior mechanics and blew off critical clues such as the amount of grease required to lube the gear link among other issues.. An aircraft mechanic has to be part gear head, part inspector, part investigator, and part lawyer to make sure the airplane is airworthy and this aircraft certainly slipped through the system.
The gear showed down and locked. The pilot had nothing to do with the failure or a bolt installed correctly. Age could be an issue but not in this case.
This is only the "Preliminary" report. Give them time.....