NTSB CAROL · Event
Event GAA16CA442
Registry · N35408
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
CESSNA 172R
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A3F622
Registrant of record
ELMENDORF AERO CLUB
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The facility's designation of the taxiway for use by maintenance personnel to conduct high thrust tests without appropriate safeguards in place, which led to maintenance personnel conducting high-power, run-up thrust procedures across the active taxiway and resulted in the loss of directional control of a light, single-engine airplane on the taxiway when it encountered a sudden, unexpected blast of engine thrust.
Factual narrative
The flight instructor of a light single-engine airplane reported that while he and the student pilot were on a taxiway under air traffic control (ATC) instruction, the airplane encountered prop wash, originating from a larger (four engine) turbine-powered airplane performing a maintenance engine(s) run-up. The maintenance run-up was performed in a location adjacent to the active taxiway that was authorized for parking as well as 80% engine(s) power run-ups. The larger turbine-powered airplane was the third in a row a five, of like model airplanes being parked at the location. The light single-engine airplane was not on frequency when the larger turbine-powered airplane was given the clearance, and was not told by ATC at any time during their taxi of the larger turbine-powered airplane's intentions. Subsequently, the light single-engine airplane was blown approximately 80 feet from its original location while taxing behind the larger turbine-powered airplane, which resulted in substantial damage to the firewall. The flight instructor reported that there were no pre impact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. As a safety recommendation the flight instructor stated that the incident could have been prevented with better communications between the tower controllers and the larger turbine-powered airplane's ground personnel. The flight instructor of a light single-engine airplane reported that while he and the student pilot were on a taxiway under air traffic control (ATC) instruction, the airplane encountered prop wash, originating from a larger (four engine) turbine-powered airplane performing a maintenance engine(s) run-up. The maintenance run-up was performed in a location adjacent to the active taxiway that was authorized for parking as well as 80% engine(s) power run-ups. The larger turbine-powered airplane was the third in a row a five, of like model airplanes being parked at the location. The light single-engine airplane was not on frequency when the larger turbine-powered airplane was given the clearance, and was not told by ATC at any time during their taxi of the larger turbine-powered airplane's intentions. Subsequently, the light single-engine airplane was blown approximately 80 feet from its original location while taxing behind the larger turbine-powered airplane, which resulted in substantial damage to the firewall. The flight instructor reported that there were no pre impact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. As a safety recommendation the flight instructor stated that the incident could have been prevented with better communications between the tower controllers and the larger turbine-powered airplane's ground personnel. 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-Directional control-Attain/maintain not possible - C
- C Organizational issues-Development-Design-Policy/procedure development-Airport - C
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2016_GAA16CA442.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (maintenance). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Crash Testing and Simulation of a Cessna 172 Aircraft: Pitch Down Impact Onto Soft Soil
During the summer of 2015, NASA Langley Research Center conducted three full-scale crash tests of Cessna 172 (C-172) aircraft at the NASA Langley Landing and Impact Research (LandIR) Facility.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Technical Memorandum (TM)
Simulating the Impact Response of Three Full-Scale Crash Tests of Cessna 172 Aircraft
During the summer of 2015, a series of three full-scale crash tests were performed at the Landing and Impact Research Facility located at NASA Langley Research Center of Cessna 172 aircraft.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2026 · Journal article (IJAAA)
From Reactive to Predictive: A hybrid Trust-Mediated Adoption Framework for Data-Driven Maintenance in Distributed-Authority Aviation Environments
Modern aviation maintenance operates within increasingly data-intensive technological environments, yet the operational integration of predictive maintenance into routine decision-making remains incon…
- Semantic Scholar 2025 · Article (Applied Sciences)
Decision-Making Framework for Aviation Safety in Predictive Maintenance Strategies
The implementation of predictive maintenance (PM) in aviation presents unique challenges due to strict safety requirements, complex operational environments, and regulatory constraints.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2024 · Journal article (JAAER)
Low-Resource Automatic Speech Recognition Domain Adaptation – A Case-Study in Aviation Maintenance
With timeliness and efficiency being critical in the aviation maintenance industry, the need has been growing for smart technological solutions that optimize and streamline the different underlying ta…
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2024 · Journal article (JAAER)
A New Trajectory in UAV Safety: Leveraging Reinforcement Learning for Distance Maintenance Under Wind Variations
In the field of aviation, safety is a critical cornerstone, and the operation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) systems is deeply connected with this principle.
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