NTSB WPR21LA322 — 2021-08-03 · Tucson, Arizona, United States

Current FAA registration · N53350

Make / Model: CESSNA 172F
Year of manufacture: 1965 · 56 years old at event
Engine: CONT MOTOR 0-200 SERIES (100 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19650429
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A6BEB2

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N53350 Cessna 172F None

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain a safe taxi distance from a large turbine-powered airplane, resulting in an encounter of the turbine-powered airplane's jet blast while taxiing.

Factual narrative

The flight instructor reported that, during taxi on a taxiway, a nearby commercial turbine-powered airplane powered up to move onto the runway. As the commercial airplane turned, it kept a very high level of thrust. The jet blast subsequently lifted the instructor’s airplane onto its propeller and right wing. The right wing was substantially damaged. The flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

— Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring other aircraft-Instructor/check pilot
— Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Instructor/check pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2021_WPR21LA322.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.