Narrative:

We departed ZZZ in a citation xls. During the initial climb out; it became obvious that I couldn't reach the landing gear handle from my seat with the shoulder harness fastened. I had to disconnect the shoulder harness portion of my seat buckle system in order to actuate the landing gear system. This process occurred immediately after rotation and less than 200 ft above the departure runway. Once in cruise flight; my copilot and I began testing the reach of our shoulder harness restraints and noted that this particular tail number restricted forward movement significantly more than previous aircraft we've been assigned. I (the PIC) couldn't reach the gear handle; the fire extinguisher; or even items on the floor beneath my own seat if needed. The sic noticed that from his seat; with the shoulder harness fastened; he would struggle to reach the altitude selector knob; did not have enough 'slack' to reach his floor boards; comm 1 panel; or fire extinguisher. These actions mentioned are only a few examples of routine movements that should be available with the standard 5 point harness connected. We called maintenance control upon arrival and documented our concern. The next morning; I contacted the maintenance controller on duty; via email; and explained 'if the on-site mechanic had any difficulty trouble-shooting our problem; we would be able to meet them at the airplane to help troubleshoot.' I was concerned that a non-pilot (the maintenance tech) wouldn't see the same shortcomings as a regular flight crew member. We also noted that another citation xl; was inbound on a routine trip and would possibly be available to do a side-by-side comparison. It was agreed that the crew would travel from the hotel to the airport to meet the mechanic for further review. The crew arrived at the airport; made contact with the maintenance tech; and evaluated the crew restraint system together. The maintenance tech along with both crew members; visually noted that the problem did exist and that neither crew member had the ability to adequately reach critical controls from their usual and standard positions. Specifically; we noted that the two shoulder harness straps on both crew seats only extended 2 inches past the lip on the black glare-shield installed below the window. When the other citation arrived; we gained access to the cockpit and noted that the two shoulder harness straps on each seat extended to mid-way into the cooling fan boxes located on the glare shield; or approximately 10 inches more than the straps on our aircraft. We also noted that with both crew members buckled in; we could reach all areas of the cockpit for both sides of the cockpit. For example; the gear handle; fire extinguisher; and right-side circuit breaker panels were all easily accessed from the left seat. The right seat pilot could; without struggle; activate the parking brake located on the far left side of the cockpit. The three of us (mechanic and two crew members) all agreed there was a need to further work on our aircraft to resolve the issue and give the crew the needed mobility.comparative pictures were sent to maintenance control email inbox and the crew departed back to the hotel. Along with the pictures; I explained that if there was a way to properly document the problem via a ferry permit; the crew would be open to moving the aircraft to a location that's better suited to resolve the issue. Thirty minutes later; we received electronic notification that 'maintenance has been released on (our aircraft)' and were subsequently assigned a passenger trip. I then contacted the union representative who advised me to follow the maintenance escalation process.I then contacted the on duty assistant chief pilot and explained my concerns and that I'd like to escalate the matter. He said; 'let me talk to a few people and call you back.' I never received a call back. Later I learned that another crew had been assigned that aircraft and been given a brief to fly the next morning.its worth noting: I had a similar issue at that location. There was a problem; both crew members and the on-site tech were in agreement of the problem and similar results were achieved. Crew shopping shouldn't be an option to 'fix' an aircraft. Fix the maintenance issue or document a ferry flight to a location that can fix the problem.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: CE560XLS flight crew reported malfunctioning shoulder harnesses that restricted their ability to reach critical flight deck controls.

Narrative: We departed ZZZ in a Citation XLS. During the initial climb out; it became obvious that I couldn't reach the landing gear handle from my seat with the shoulder harness fastened. I had to disconnect the shoulder harness portion of my seat buckle system in order to actuate the landing gear system. This process occurred immediately after rotation and less than 200 ft above the departure runway. Once in cruise flight; my copilot and I began testing the reach of our shoulder harness restraints and noted that this particular tail number restricted forward movement significantly more than previous aircraft we've been assigned. I (the PIC) couldn't reach the gear handle; the fire extinguisher; or even items on the floor beneath my own seat if needed. The SIC noticed that from his seat; with the shoulder harness fastened; he would struggle to reach the altitude selector knob; did not have enough 'slack' to reach his floor boards; Comm 1 panel; or fire extinguisher. These actions mentioned are only a few examples of routine movements that should be available with the standard 5 point harness connected. We called maintenance control upon arrival and documented our concern. The next morning; I contacted the maintenance controller on duty; via email; and explained 'if the on-site mechanic had any difficulty trouble-shooting our problem; we would be able to meet them at the airplane to help troubleshoot.' I was concerned that a non-pilot (the Maintenance tech) wouldn't see the same shortcomings as a regular flight crew member. We also noted that another Citation XL; was inbound on a routine trip and would possibly be available to do a side-by-side comparison. It was agreed that the crew would travel from the hotel to the airport to meet the mechanic for further review. The crew arrived at the airport; made contact with the Maintenance tech; and evaluated the crew restraint system together. The Maintenance tech along with both crew members; visually noted that the problem DID exist and that neither crew member had the ability to adequately reach critical controls from their usual and standard positions. Specifically; we noted that the two shoulder harness straps on both crew seats only extended 2 inches past the lip on the black glare-shield installed below the window. When the other Citation arrived; we gained access to the cockpit and noted that the two shoulder harness straps on each seat extended to mid-way into the cooling fan boxes located on the glare shield; or approximately 10 inches more than the straps on our aircraft. We also noted that with both crew members buckled in; we could reach all areas of the cockpit for both sides of the cockpit. For example; the gear handle; fire extinguisher; and right-side circuit breaker panels were all easily accessed from the left seat. The right seat pilot could; without struggle; activate the parking brake located on the far left side of the cockpit. The three of us (mechanic and two crew members) all agreed there was a need to further work on our aircraft to resolve the issue and give the crew the needed mobility.Comparative pictures were sent to maintenance control email inbox and the crew departed back to the hotel. Along with the pictures; I explained that if there was a way to properly document the problem via a ferry permit; the crew would be open to moving the aircraft to a location that's better suited to resolve the issue. Thirty minutes later; we received electronic notification that 'maintenance has been released on (our aircraft)' and were subsequently assigned a passenger trip. I then contacted the Union Representative who advised me to follow the maintenance escalation process.I then contacted the on duty assistant chief pilot and explained my concerns and that I'd like to escalate the matter. He said; 'Let me talk to a few people and call you back.' I never received a call back. Later I learned that another crew had been assigned that aircraft and been given a brief to fly the next morning.ITS WORTH NOTING: I had a similar issue at that location. There was a problem; both crew members and the on-site tech were in agreement of the problem and similar results were achieved. Crew shopping shouldn't be an option to 'fix' an aircraft. Fix the Maintenance issue or document a ferry flight to a location that can fix the problem.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.