Cargo in Lear 55

[capt601]

I fortunately have not had the pleasure of having to fly cargo while flying Lear 55's, just pax ops. the company (part 91)I am at now is flying boxes of stuff in the baggage compartment and cabin stacked to the ceiling while leaving 2 or 3 seats in the front to carry 2-3 people. The aft baggage door in the cabin is not accessible at all due to the boxes, but the main cabin door is. Is this legal? Does the aft cabin emergency exit need to be able to have access to it because of the pax. on board with the boxes blocking it?
thanks all,

capt601

 

[Rick1128]

Capt., I really don't have enough information to answer that question right now. First of all does the aircraft have the cargo STC? If not, how is the cargo secured?

Under Part 25, which is how your aircraft is certified, a minimum of two emergency exits are required. So the over wing exit can not be blocked. Except those aircraft that:

a. have the cargo STC. It is no longer being approved after I believe Jan. 1998. And I don't believe it was ever approved for the 55.

b. have the overhead cockpit escape hatch. Which I also believe was not approved for the 55.

If the cargo can be secured in a manner that allows access to the over the wing exit, I believe your legally OK. But it really has to be accessable.

 

[Rick1128]

Oh by the way

One other note. Just noticed that you stated this was a 91 operation. It gets kind of grey. Except for the Part 25 requirements. Sounds like my old boss, load everything in including the lawn furniture and potted plants, dogs and cats. Except he was too cheap to have a decent aircraft. Just a ragged out 25. It sounds like he is beyond blatant. I would be careful. Many Feds know the Lear series and even if you are not 135, they can still do a ramp check. And if they don't like it, they will hit you with 'careless and reckless'.

 

[JetPilot500]

FAR 91.525: Carriage of cargo.


(a) No pilot in command may permit cargo to be carried in any airplane unless --

(1) It is carried in an approved cargo rack, bin, or compartment installed in the airplane;

(2) It is secured by means approved by the Administrator; or

(3) It is carried in accordance with each of the following:

(i) It is properly secured by a safety belt or other tiedown having enough strength to eliminate the possibility of shifting under all normally anticipated flight and ground conditions.

(ii) It is packaged or covered to avoid possible injury to passengers.

(iii) It does not impose any load on seats or on the floor structure that exceeds the load limitation for those components.

(iv) It is not located in a position that restricts the access to or use of any required emergency or regular exit , or the use of the aisle between the crew and the passenger compartment.

(v) It is not carried directly above seated passengers.

(b) When cargo is carried in cargo compartments that are designed to require the physical entry of a crewmember to extinguish any fire that may occur during flight, the cargo must be loaded so as to allow a crewmember to effectively reach all parts of the compartment with the contents of a hand fire extinguisher.

THE RULES IS THE RULES!

 

[capt601]

In all my years flying 55's I have never seen a cargo STC for the 55. My big concern was having the aft amergency exit blocked due to the boxes. and no, the boxes are not tied down by anything. they are basically held in by pushing the two remaining seats back against the boxes to hold them from sliding forward. It does sound like a perfect case for the FAA to use the old Careless and reckless operation???
thanks for all of the replies, so far.
capt601