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Atlas / NTSB / CEN13CA234

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event CEN13CA234

2013-04-20 Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States Airport · AEG None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N6955E

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

CESSNA 175A

Year of manufacture

1959 · 54 years old at event

Engine

CONT MOTOR GO-300 SERIES (175 hp)

Seats / Engines

4 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

19591230

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A94055

Registrant of record

GOPALAKRISHNA PRAHLAD MENON

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s inability to maintain airplane control during taxi due to an inadvertent encounter with a dust devil.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that during his arrival to land he was aware of dust devils in the vicinity that were diminishing or moving away and were no factor. The airplane had just landed and was taxiing slowly on a taxiway when the pilot reported that another dust devil suddenly materialized about 300 feet to his left front. He had slowed to a stop by the time the dust devil engulfed the airplane which completely lifted the airplane about 3 feet off the taxiway surface. The airplane then impacted terrain on the right wingtip and propeller resulting in substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures. The pilot reported that upon arrival at his destination, he realized there were dust devils in the vicinity that were diminishing or moving away; he decided they would not be a factor. He landed the airplane and was taxiing slowly on a taxiway when he saw a dust devil about 300 feet to his left front. He said that he had slowed to a stop by the time the dust devil engulfed the airplane, but the airplane was lifted about 3 feet off the taxiway surface. The airplane then impacted the ground on the right wingtip and propeller, resulting in substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-(general)-Attain/maintain not possible - C
  • C Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Dust devil/whirlwind-Contributed to outcome - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2013_CEN13CA234.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.