The Learjet 55 "Longhorn" is an American
business jet
A business jet, private jet, or bizjet is a jet aircraft designed for transporting small groups of people, typically business executives and high-ranking coworker, associates. Business jets are generally designed for faster air travel and more ...
manufactured by
Learjet
Learjet was a manufacturer of business jets for civilian and military use based in Wichita, Kansas, United States. Founded in the late 1950s by William Powell Lear as Swiss American Aviation Corporation, it became a subsidiary of Canadian Bomba ...
.
Development and design
The Learjet 50 series was first announced at the 1977
Paris Air Show
The Paris Air Show (, ''Salon du Bourget'') is a trade fair and air show held in odd years at Paris–Le Bourget Airport in France. Organized by the French aerospace industry's primary representative body, the ''Groupement des industries frança ...
with larger cabins than existing Learjets.
The series was to have three variants, the Learjet 54, 55 and 56 but only the Learjet 55 was built.
The Learjet 55 was a low-wing cantilever monoplane with
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
-developed
winglets
Wingtip devices are intended to improve the efficiency of fixed-wing aircraft by reducing drag. Although there are several types of wing tip devices which function in different manners, their intended effect is always to reduce an aircraft ...
. The aircraft has a T-tail and is powered by two
Garrett TFE731 turbofans mounted each side of the rear fuselage.
It has a retractable tricycle landing gear and an enclosed cabin for up to ten passengers and a cockpit for the two crew.
Construction of the Learjet 55 began in April 1978 after extensive testing and work on the wing design which came, initially, from the Learjet 25. The Learjet 55 first flew on 19 April 1979. The first production aircraft were produced starting 18 March 1981. In total, 147 Learjet 55 aircraft were delivered.
Variants
;Learjet 54
:Proposed 11-seat variant; not built.
;Learjet 55
:Production variant; 126 built.
;Learjet 55B
:1986 - Improved version with a glass cockpit, improved take-off performance and increased range, 8 built.
;Learjet 55C
:1987 - New rear underfuselage design, with
Delta Fins to improve lateral
Dutch roll stability, and reduce takeoff and landing speeds.
;Learjet 55C/ER
:Extended-range version of the Learjet 55C.
;Learjet 55C/LR
:Long-range version of the Learjet 55C, fitted with an extra tank, carrying an extra of fuel in the tail cone.
;Learjet 56
:Proposed eight-seat version, not built.
;VU-55
:
Brazilian Air Force
The Brazilian Air Force (, FAB) is the air branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces and one of the three national uniformed services. The FAB was formed when the Brazilian Brazilian Army Aviation (1919–1941), Army and Brazilian Naval Aviation, Nav ...
designation for a VIP transport variant of the Learjet 55.
Operators
;
*
Servicios Aéreos Profesionales
Accidents and incidents
* On 31 January 2025,
Med Jets Flight 056
On January 31, 2025, Med Jets Flight 056, a Learjet 55 operated by Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, crashed in the Castor Gardens, Philadelphia, Castor Gardens neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, shortly after takeoff, killing everyone on boar ...
, a Mexican-registered Learjet 55 operating as a
air ambulance
Air medical services are the use of aircraft, including both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters to provide various kinds of urgent medical care, especially prehospital, emergency and critical care to patients during aeromedical evacuation an ...
by a Miami/Mexico based Jet Rescue Air Ambulance with six people on board crashed near
Roosevelt Mall in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, at the intersection of Bustleton and Cottman Avenues, 40 seconds after takeoff from the
Northeast Philadelphia Airport at 6:06 p.m. EST. The pediatric patient and her mother were en route to
Tijuana International Airport
Tijuana International Airport (); officially ''Aeropuerto Internacional General Abelardo L. Rodríguez'' (General Abelardo L. Rodríguez International Airport) , is an international airport located northeast of downtown Tijuana, Baja Califo ...
in Mexico via
Springfield-Branson National Airport, northwest of
Springfield in
Greene County,
Missouri
Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
, after a medical procedure in
Philadelphia Shriners Hospital.
All occupants of the aircraft died in the crash.
Specifications
References
Notes
Bibliography
*
*
External links
{{FAB aircraft designations
55
1970s United States business aircraft
Twinjets
T-tail aircraft
Low-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1979
Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear