The reason I was interested in those comments is because you described a climb rate of 1,000 fpm in the 24D. That airplane should be doing 6,000 fpm, and it's quite capable of an initial climb close to double that...it's got terriffic climb performance. It's got great performance on one engine, too.
If you were able to manage a thousand feet per minute, then you were experiencing a considerable downdraft. The scenario you described sounds as though you were landing in close proximity to strong convective activity, and almost sounds as though you landed into the advance gust front of a microburst. In such a case, the risk of an overrun is preferable to the much higher risk of attempting flight in a severe downdraft.
You didn't state weather your airplane was equipped with T/R's or not, or if it had the drag chute, but both are available for just such an occasion. (If the winds are gusting hard, be sure to jettison that chute before long, however). The 24D has a limited form of antiskid: it's not fully modulating and the pilot still has the capability of locking up a wheel even if the antiskid is working correctly.
I can't judge what you did. I wasn't there, didn't see it, and don't know enough about it. But the circumstances as described sounded very much like a recipe for disaster. If that quantity of rain was coming down, it would have had a significant radar signature. This should have been a warning sign before ever attempting the landing, especially by panning upward with tilt to see what was coming down.
You stated that you'll be proud to see someone delay because of weather. This happens all the time, and the scenario you described sounds like a good time to re-evaluate weather a landing attempt or an approach is even advisable. With a strong return over or on the field, it's quite possibly a good time to be looking at holding until it passes, or at an alternate field.
I realize that the fuel gauge in the Lear 24D goes down so fast you can see it move, and this means that if you want to hold out and wait, you won't have much time. Therefore, giving strong consideration to an alternate is a good idea.
Standard practice calls for manual air ignition during an approach in that airplane, but as the life of the ignitors and plugs are limited, many pilots don't use them all the time. If this were the case, passage into heavy rain could have resulted in a dual flameout (it does happen) without those ignitors on. I'm guessing you probably followed SOP and had them on for the landing...but it's one more thing to consider.
If you were able to manage a thousand feet per minute, then you were experiencing a considerable downdraft. The scenario you described sounds as though you were landing in close proximity to strong convective activity, and almost sounds as though you landed into the advance gust front of a microburst. In such a case, the risk of an overrun is preferable to the much higher risk of attempting flight in a severe downdraft.
You didn't state weather your airplane was equipped with T/R's or not, or if it had the drag chute, but both are available for just such an occasion. (If the winds are gusting hard, be sure to jettison that chute before long, however). The 24D has a limited form of antiskid: it's not fully modulating and the pilot still has the capability of locking up a wheel even if the antiskid is working correctly.
I can't judge what you did. I wasn't there, didn't see it, and don't know enough about it. But the circumstances as described sounded very much like a recipe for disaster. If that quantity of rain was coming down, it would have had a significant radar signature. This should have been a warning sign before ever attempting the landing, especially by panning upward with tilt to see what was coming down.
You stated that you'll be proud to see someone delay because of weather. This happens all the time, and the scenario you described sounds like a good time to re-evaluate weather a landing attempt or an approach is even advisable. With a strong return over or on the field, it's quite possibly a good time to be looking at holding until it passes, or at an alternate field.
I realize that the fuel gauge in the Lear 24D goes down so fast you can see it move, and this means that if you want to hold out and wait, you won't have much time. Therefore, giving strong consideration to an alternate is a good idea.
Standard practice calls for manual air ignition during an approach in that airplane, but as the life of the ignitors and plugs are limited, many pilots don't use them all the time. If this were the case, passage into heavy rain could have resulted in a dual flameout (it does happen) without those ignitors on. I'm guessing you probably followed SOP and had them on for the landing...but it's one more thing to consider.
